


Better Than Fanfiction

by Omoni



Series: Abovetale [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alphyne, Alphys/Undyne-centric, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Gay Sex, Gen, Lewd Fluff, Lewff, Sexual Content, can be read as a stand-alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-25 08:29:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 42,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6187483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omoni/pseuds/Omoni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I know... I know... I said I had no more ideas. I THOUGHT I DIDN'T. Then I started writing THIS, this silly, fluffy, smutty Alphyne ridiculousness, and I couldn't stop scribbling until I was close to 90 pages! Aaaah! </p><p>Obviously this takes place post-True Pacifist run, has lots of gay, and also has lots of emotion and stuff. Also note: this is my own stupid headcanon. I DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO LIKE OR READ THIS X____X</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wait! Another note! this chapter - and a couple after - do feature sexybits - awesome lesbian monster sexybits. So... you were warned, so don't yell at me. Also, most of what is written about sans here is CLEARLY SPECULATION. Don't take it too seriously! Again, just headcanon!
> 
> Er, do let me know if anyone reads this. I'm rather shy about it... so yeah. I'll probably post all of it, regardless. I have no shame ^____^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has fanart (*internal screaming*) by the amazing **Memories, Tales, and Dreams** , over on Tumblr! Do take a look and revel in the awesome! 
> 
> http://memories-tales-and-lives.tumblr.com/post/150439551858/oh-god-this-took-all-day-undyne-y-u-hard-to

 Anime had never truly prepared Alphys for the reality of having a girlfriend. Even the ones that she (used to) keep hidden. But very quickly, she learned.

There were no points for trying to put it eloquently: though short, Alphys was definitely round and plump, but at this moment, it was  _she_ who was being squashed, whereas she had been told all her life that she was the one who would always squash. However, she was being squashed not by flesh similar to her own, but by hard, scarred, and scaled muscles. And no matter how many times she woke up this way, she still hadn’t gotten used to it.

 Though this morning, she admitted it was very, very different.

 Undyne lay sprawled over her, her arms wound tightly around Alphys’s waist, her hold firm, even in sleep. Her head was resting upon Alphys’s chest (admittedly a good pillow), between her breasts and over her heart, and one of her legs hooked around Alphys’s legs. She was definitely in a full-bodied Undyne-hug.

 Undyne snored. And drooled. And sometimes kicked and punched in her sleep. But Alphys didn’t mind; she also snored and drooled, though she tended to curl up into a ball on her side rather than spread out like Undyne. They always started out on their own sides of the bed, Undyne either on her back and spread out, or holding Alphys to her. Alphys, in turn, stayed a ball on the other side, buried in far more blankets than Undyne – she tended to get colder easier. However, whenever Alphys awoke, she was usually still a ball, but Undyne was spread all over the bed quite comfortably. It had taken a bit to get used to, but Alphys found she wouldn’t want it any other way.

 Well, until she awoke this morning to this full-bodied hug. And a naked hug, no less. That was new. Brand-new.

* * *

About four months ago, Undyne expressed interest in moving to the Aboveground, still close to Mount Ebott, but close to the human population, as well.

At first, Alphys was dismayed, because she had loved having Undyne closer to Hotland. However, when Undyne, upon expressing her interest to Frisk, added, “And don’t forget Alphy. There has to be room for her movies and books and stuff,” Alphys suddenly went into a daze, understanding that not only did Undyne want to move to the Aboveground, but she wanted to _move in with her_.

 It was rather amazing, though for anyone else it was a natural progression. They had been together for around eight months at that point (nudged together by both Toriel and Papyrus, who were rather tired of seeing them apart, and together orchestrated a date for them that would finally cement their relationship) and while they spent as much time together as they could, there had been no talk of sharing a place, until Undyne just said it casually to Frisk that day.

 Frisk took it in stride and showed them a few homes on monster-friendly streets. Hand-in-hand, Undyne and Alphys followed Frisk to three houses, both instantly falling in love with the third one, a place Frisk called a “bungalow”. With Frisk’s help, they managed to get the place, and Undyne was so happy she practically sang. (She certainly played the piano happily enough.)

 At this point, they had become very close. Undyne made it no secret that she found Alphys wonderful, and made a point to show it physically as well as emotionally and verbally. Alphys, though bad at all three (in her opinion), had also learnt to reciprocate, and pretty soon, it really did seem natural that they would move in together.

 By the time they had both fully moved in, neither could imagine _not_ sharing a room and bed, though at this point, neither was quite ready to progress to sex, yet.

Undyne had, one afternoon, made a point to sit Alphys down and try to talk about it with her, which made them both realise how shy Undyne could be.

* * *

 “Okay,” Undyne said angrily, her face red and her hands on her knees. They sat on one side of their new bed, facing each other; Undyne perched on the edge, while Alphys sat on her knees, her full attention on Undyne.

 “Okay, so,” she tried again. “Ugh.” She rubbed her face, then blurted out the sentence Alphys _never_ expected to hear from her: “I haven’t… ever. You’re the only person I’ve trusted to even _touch_ me past hugs. You’re the only person I’m _ever_ gonna trust. So, yeah…” She scowled, her blush deepening. “I haven’t. Ever.”

 Alphys stared at her. While she had known that Undyne was usually too busy for normal relationships, her passion and ease with her own body (especially with nudity) made the scientist think that she actually _had_ been intimate with others before, if not romantically, then casually. She realised, just then, the amount that Undyne actually trusted her with, and found herself unable to reply. Instead, she grabbed one of Undyne’s hands into her own.

 “Shut up,” Undyne said grumpily. Alphys smiled. She hadn’t even said anything, but she understood.

 Then Undyne looked over at her, her scowl softening to something else, something Alphys rarely saw: shy worry. “But… _you_ have, right? I mean, you’re a few years older than me, right? So—,”

 Alphys’s derisive laughter cut off her words, bringing the scowl back. “Are you _crazy?!”_ she snorted out, adding another of those laughs, the kind she used to laugh at herself before anyone else could. “ _Me_? Have you even _looked_ at me? Come on!”

 Undyne glared at her, now. She reached out and grabbed Alphys’s face between her hands, stopping the laughter. “Why _else_ would I say these stupid, embarrassing things, Alphy?!” she demanded, shaking Alphys’s head a little.

 “T-to make me feel better?” Alphys admitted easily, trying to smile, though her face twitched a little.

 “You  _nerd_!” Undyne answered sharply. “I’m telling you, because… I would like to… with you… someday… when we’re both ready!” She was scarlet, now, her eye blazing. Before Alphys could say anything, she pulled her close and kissed her, and Alphys was a puddle at once.

 “I…” she said, once she had breath. “I would like that, too…”

 “Good!” Undyne snarled, then smiled fiercely, before kissing her again.

* * *

That was when they decided to learn more about each other’s bodies, gradually, in order to ease into what they both wanted. Alphys loved this time with Undyne, discovering that, while there were some differences, Undyne’s anatomy wasn’t that varying from a human’s, and her secret love of yuri prepared her rather nicely for that. Alphys, herself, wasn’t too different, either, though her skin was tougher and her – what she called “hands-off” – places were a little harder to get to, protected by strong skin.

Well, in most cases.

 For example: Her breasts were not an issue. She knew, from her own explorations, how best to make them feel good. She had no idea, however, that when someone else – especially if that someone was Undyne, whom she melted for just from a look – touched them, with light fingers or a flick of a tongue, it was nothing like her own touch. Rather, it was intensified by at least five, and often left her half-dazed as a result.

 Undyne, in turn, she discovered, was ticklish. It was amusing at first, finding that it took very little to get her to shout and squirm away from tickling claws. However, when she used that information intimately, say, trailing her claws lightly up Undyne’s neck, or sides (her gills were especially sensitive, and Undyne loved it when Alphys touched them), or yes, even her breasts, Undyne squirmed in a different way, and definitely didn’t shout or protest.

 It was hard to believe that Alphys was able to do these kinds of things at all, let alone with Undyne. Every single time her eyes met Undyne’s, she felt her heart skip and butterflies flood her stomach, especially when Undyne’s eye warmed at the sight of her and she smiled that wide, slow grin.

Pretty soon, however, Alphys found it harder to believe a time without Undyne so intimately in her life, and found she didn’t ever want to.

 It would only be four months later from buying that house that she would finally understand that Undyne felt the same way.

* * *

The night everything changed – or perhaps finally fell into place – they had been walking home from Grillby’s surface location, holding hands as usual, in what Alphys thought was their usual comfortable silence.

However, about two blocks away, Undyne suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Alphys tripped into her, surprised, and was about to ask what was wrong, when suddenly Undyne pounced.

 Undyne definitely liked to pounce on Alphys, surprising her randomly with enthusiastic hugs, kisses, and sometimes shocking (but always flattering) busy hands. She usually prefaced it with, “cuddle wrestling!” So when, this time, she hadn’t said a word, Alphys was taken by surprise.

 Only to have that surprise go into overdrive.

 Alphys found herself backed into the nearest tree, Undyne’s strong hands on her face and pulling it up into a kiss, one so intense that Alphys almost lost the ability to breathe.

Undyne pressed right against her, leaving no space between their bodies, and when she did so, she made a sound against Alphys’s lips that set her blood on fire: a keen of desperation.

Alphys clung onto her, her arms going around Undyne’s waist tightly, kissing back breathlessly.

 In response, Undyne’s hands slid down from her face to the front of her blouse, reaching beneath to trail her fingers up Alphys’s sides slowly, a gesture they both knew made Alphys weak with desire. Coupled with how intense Undyne kissed her, Alphys was barely able to suppress a few sounds of her own, her claws digging into Undyne’s back a little.

 Then reality crashed in, and Alphys’s eyes snapped open. She pulled away, though reluctantly, and said, voice hoarse, “Un-Undyne, wait… ”

Undyne buried her face into Alphys’s neck in reply, biting gently, her hands now on her breasts, and Alphys’s knees nearly gave out.

 “No,” Undyne hissed against her skin, her voice also raspy. “I-I can’t wait anymore… I can’t… I need… _you_ , Alphy. _Please_ …”

 Alphys’s eyes widened at this; she was merely protesting the fact that they were making out in public, something that always made Alphys extra-shy.

But Undyne was... _pleading_ with her? And about _this_ , of all things?

“W-wait,” Alphys stammered. “Y-you mean…?”

 _Did_ she mean...?

  _“Yes,”_ Undyne whispered. “ _Please_ , Alphy. I _can’t_ …” She grazed her teeth over Alphys’s neck again, and this time her knees _did_ give out. “I can’t be without you… I need… want… _you_ , Alphy…”

 Alphys nodded before she even finished, her legs going around Undyne’s waist without much hesitation or thought,  for both balance and her own feelings, and Undyne groaned against her, pressing closer and holding Alphys to her tight.

They both stood there for a moment, breathing hard, before Undyne growled out, “Home. _Now_.”

 From there, it was practically a race to get back home, Undyne almost dragging the half-delirious Alphys with her, legs still weak and heart racing.

Once finally there, the moment the door was closed (kicked that way by Undyne), Alphys found Undyne back on her at once, kissing her in that same breathless, intense way, her deft fingers unbuttoning Alphys's blouse and pulling it off of her so quickly that Alphys shivered.

Her own hands shook trying to pull Undyne’s coat, then shirt, off, and Undyne jerked back and did the job herself with a growl, going a step further and first taking off her bra, then Alphys’s, before grabbing her again into another kissing embrace, one intensified when their skin touched. They stumbled together toward their bedroom, marking their path with discarded clothes, both frantic now.

Alphys had waited her whole life for this, and was finally here, and with Undyne – _Undyne_ , her ultimate dream, who had proved to be so much more real than any dream, who was not perfect but was so much better for it.

 They almost didn’t make it to their bed; Alphys stumbled on Undyne’s housecoat that had been left there the previous morning. She fell to the floor, and to her surprise, Undyne refused to let go, instead falling down with her (but luckily not landing on her).

Alphys landed, winded, to find Undyne’s fingers already snaking downward, her eye open and staring at Alphys’s face eagerly, smiling, a haze of lust darkening her gleaming eye. Alphys closed her eyes, grabbing Undyne’s hips and pulling her closer, surprising Undyne into squeaking a little.

 For a moment, it was nothing but kisses and touching, both tender and intimate, Undyne keeping Alphys pinned to the floor.

Alphys was gasping, trying to form words. She managed to get out the word, “bed,” only once, but Undyne understood, and before she could even blink, she found herself picked up and pinned again, this time the soft bed cushioning her, and she smiled.

 Undyne’s fingers trailed down Alphys’s side slowly, her other hand firmly behind Alphys’s head, kissing her deeply, her tongue already out and exploring against hers. Alphys made a long, drawn out noise then, one she didn’t know she even could make, and her eyes rolled up, clutching at Undyne’s hips hard. Undyne’s eye gleamed, chuckling against Alphys’s lips, her fingers continuing their path so slow it threatened to drive Alphys absolutely crazy.

  _This_ wasn’t new, as by this point, both had used their hands to explore each other. So when Undyne’s hand slipped between her legs, Alphys was prepared for it, though of course she still squirmed beneath Undyne and grabbed onto her tightly, reaching up and sliding her fingers slowly along Undyne's gills.

For several long, glorious moments, Alphys let her mind go, surrendering to the feel of Undyne, all of Undyne, everything familiar and dreamlike all at once.

 It was for this reason that she missed Undyne’s grin, and when she suddenly shifted, pulling her hand away, Alphys clutched at her desperately to bring her hand back, murmuring Undyne’s name in a mess of syllables.

Undyne said, her voice a little strained, “Trust me?"

 “With my life,” Alphys burst out, unable to keep it in.

Undyne, unknown to her, bit her lip at that, her eye wavering, touched to the core by those words. Knowing her words were probably useless, now, she moved herself closer, straddling one of Alphys’s legs, pressing one of her own between Alphys’s, before she reached down and touched first herself, then Alphys.

Then, she shifted down, and their flesh finally met. 

 At the sudden, intimate contact, Alphys’s eyes snapped open, and she make a noise akin to someone poking her in the stomach without warning. Undyne pressed close to her, kissing her again deeper, and Alphys kissed back, whimpering, especially when Undyne began to move against her, prompting her to do the same.

They moved slow at first, relishing in the new, intense feeling of flesh-on-flesh, their senses being overtaken by those feelings alone, both so slick and warm that it made those moves so easy.

Soon, they moved together, harder and faster, based on instinct and need, alone, as by this time, both were frantic, hands clutching at shoulders, claws tangling into long, loose hair.

Alphys chanced to open her eyes, just as Undyne buried her face into her neck with a strangled cry of Alphys’s name, seeing her face redden and her eye squeeze shut. Alphys knew what that meant, and held her close, relishing in her sounds, loving the feel of her body tensing against hers, the sound of her name a desperate cry of passion as she was overcome…

 Undyne then paused with a soft cry, limp and overwhelmed atop Alphys for several moments, shuddering with aftershock. Alphys shut her eyes tight, taking the time to catch her breath, too. She felt Undyne’s heart racing against hers, and she reached up, her hands limply stroking Undyne’s hair gently.

 Until, suddenly, Undyne pushed in close, and ground herself against Alphys again. Once more, she jolted with a cry of her own, her claws getting tangled in Undyne’s hair, but instead of minding this, Undyne merely grinned. Alphys opened her eyes and saw her already staring back, her eye rimmed with black and sparking.

 “Your turn,” she said, before kissing her hard. Alphys’s claws dug into her back, perhaps a bit too deeply, but Undyne merely licked Alphys's lips apart and pushed closer. Another spike of white-hot pleasure stabbed into Alphys at that, and again she mumbled incoherently against Undyne’s lips.

 It didn’t usually happen _this_ quickly. Alphys knew that about herself, and eventually so did Undyne, but this was incredibly different. Between being kissed, being pinned and held tightly no matter how hard she squirmed, as well as the feel of Undyne's flesh rubbing against her own, so warm and wet, she knew it wouldn’t be long, now.

 She was right.

It only took another minute or so before she came, clutching at Undyne so hard that Undyne’s breath escaped her in a small, surprised puff. Alphys broke from the kiss and bit down on her bottom lip hard, though she still ended up crying out, anyway. She didn’t care; all she could feel was Undyne, and the pleasure she gave, and that mattered more than anything else.

 As it faded, she was boneless beneath Undyne, as the Guard gently kissed down her neck, her hands cupping Alphys’s breasts, then her face, gently. Both were panting, now, though Alphys was limp as well, shaking a little.

Soon, their breathing slowed, and Alphys reached up, pulling Undyne’s face to hers and kissing her. Undyne kissed her back, and she smiled, already feeling sleep tug at her - it had been that intense for her.

 Undyne noticed and very slowly slid down beside her, keeping close. Alphys immediately curled against her, resting her face in the crook of her neck, one hand against her own chest, the other reaching up to stroke Undyne’s tangled, sweaty hair from her forehead. Undyne sighed deeply, still smiling, wrapping her strong arms around Alphys tight.

 Alphys listened to Undyne’s heart gradually slow down, and she felt slumber curl up around her. She opened her eyes and looked up with blurred vision to see Undyne already drifting off.

Moving closer, Alphys whispered into her shoulder, figuring that Undyne was already asleep and thus it was safe to say it: “I love you… _so much,_ Undyne…”

 And she dropped into sleep, for once not having nightmares.

* * *

  Undyne’s drool upon her chest felt weird, oddly warm but as if it could barely be felt. Alphys was still trapped in an awkward sideways position on her back, trapped by muscle.

She shifted a bit, trying to get loose without waking Undyne in order get up and call in breakfast, as she had left her phone in her pants, which were _definitely_ not in the room with her.

 The moment she started moving, however, Undyne shifted closer, murmuring something Alphys didn’t catch. She was frowning, almost pouting, her hair partially obscuring her sleeping face.

 Alphys sighed, listening to the birds outside chirping to greet the morning sun that slowly rose above them. She was bemused by Undyne’s sleeping insistence to keep her nearby – usually she slept heavily enough to not notice Alphys leaving the bed. She hesitated, but she was very hungry by now, and she figured Undyne was still too asleep to care like usual, so she resumed her attempt to escape.

 When she was halfway free, Undyne suddenly murmured, “No… Alphy, don’t go…”

 She looked and saw that Undyne’s eye was open, either awake or caught in that twilight sleep, the kind that made it seem like the person was awake, but later would remember nothing. When Alphys noticed Undyne’s eye looked dark and glazed with sleep, not even noticing that her chin was damp, still, she knew it was the latter.

 She looked quite worried. When she bit her lip, Alphys scooted back to her, now positive that Undyne was still asleep – and thus confused.

Alphys hugged her close, and Undyne snuggled in her arms, her fingers digging into Alphys’s shoulder.

“I’m here,” Alphys said gently.

 “…was scared,” Undyne admitted, voice slurred with slumber. “…thought you were leaving because…” She trailed off, her eye slowly blinking closed for a moment, before opening again halfway.

 “I _was_ leaving, but just for food,” Alphys said softly, her claws stroking Undyne’s hair and absently untangling the knots. “Why did that scare you?” She smiled, unable to help adding, “You hold my heart in your hands. If I leave, I’ll _always_ come back, okay?”

 Undyne sighed deeply, relaxing against her. With her eye closed, now, she whispered, “…forgot to ask, before…”

 Alphys blinked, then jolted when she felt Undyne’s hand lazily cup around one of her breasts. She closed her eyes for a moment, smiling, butterflies again having a party in her stomach, but in a good way.

“Ask me what, before what?” she asked, not expecting an answer.

 “…to marry me… before making love with you…”

 Alphys’s whole body went hot with shock, her claws freezing in mid-stroke. At this, she was absolutely _positive_ that Undyne was indeed sleep-talking, and probably had no idea what she was saying – nor would she even remember. It still shocked Alphys, hearing those words, especially coming from Undyne.

 “Why would that make me leave you, other than to get us breakfast?” Alphys wondered gently. “We’re fine. Y-you can ask me later, o-okay?” She blushed, almost wishing Undyne was actually awake.

 “…kay.”

 “I’m going to go call in breakfast at Grillby’s, okay?”

 Undyne nodded, her breathing already heavy. “Mm,” she answered.

Alphys decided to take this as an assent, kissing Undyne’s cheek gently before freeing herself. Undyne, this time, didn’t fight back, and when Alphys was off the bed, Undyne stayed on her side, eye closed – already back to sleep.

 Alphys stood there, gazing at her for a moment with a hand on her cheek, smiling. Then, she grabbed her glasses and her robe (a twin to the one Undyne had, only hers was blue with yellow spots, and Undyne’s was yellow with blue spots. Both had been a housewarming gift from Frisk.), tossed both on, and, with a final look to Undyne, left the room.

 With shaky legs, Alphys walked back to the hallway, finding her pants somewhere between the bedroom and the door. She grabbed her phone from them, her claws already on the app for Grillby’s and automatically typing in their order; by now, she knew what Undyne liked.

When finished, she closed the app – and stopped, realising her phone was full of text messages.

 Confused, she read them.

 _“My dear, you and Undyne have all of my love. Do enjoy swimming with your dear fish.”_ That was Toriel. Obviously.

 _“Uh, congrats. Am I supposed to get you presents?”_ This was Asgore.

  _“FORGIVE ME, BUT I HAD TO CONGRATULATE YOU, DOCTOR, THOUGH I WISH YOU HAD ASKED ME TO COOK BOTH OF YOU DINNER. CAN I STILL DO SO?”_ Papyrus sent this, with a picture of his latest attempt at spaghetti.

  _“Yay! Congrats!”_ Frisk sent this, with animated emoticons of dancing blue and yellow hearts.

  _“Though rather nauseating to watch, I still wish you both many more years.”_ That was Mettaton. (She later regretted not answering this text in her confusion; it would come back to haunt her.)

 “W-wait…” Alphys said aloud without realising, her claws shaking as they danced over the screen, pulling up the calendar. Her other hand was over her mouth at once, stifling a cry of shock.

The day was highlighted, with a note: _“A year since we kissed on the beach. This is the day. DON'T CHICKEN OUT!!! (NOTE TO SELF: wear extra deodorant, wear best dress.)”_

 _And it was supposed to me,_ she realised with dawning shock.

In their sudden rush of passion, she had allowed it to slip her mind. Now, though, with a blush, she remembered her plans for this very day, planning to… planning to…

 But she hadn’t told _anyone_ she had made a note of the day, let alone planned to make it special, not even Undyne.

  _Wait... Wait?!_

_Undyne…?!_

 She raced back to the bedroom, her phone held to her chest.

Undyne was propped up on her side, cheek on hand, wide awake and grinning.

Alphys froze in the doorway, her grip on her phone tightening.

There wasn’t a trace of sleep left on Undyne’s face, and Alphys suddenly realised that she had been seamlessly – and rather willingly – conned.

 Undyne sat up, slid from the bed to her feet, and walked to Alphys, reaching down and pulling the phone from her hand. She placed it on the dresser and smiled down at Alphys, who was staring, blushing, into her eye.

(Undyne didn’t bother putting her own housecoat on; Alphys had learnt rather quickly how comfortable she was with her nudity – and Alphys’s as well. Case-in-point: the moment she saw Alphys was robed, she pouted a little before speaking.)

Undyne reached down and held both of Alphys’s hands in hers, smiling widely. “Happy First Anniversary, Alphy,” she said gently.

 Alphys was already in tears. Not only had Undyne remembered, but had apparently told everyone else. “U-Undyne, I…” she stammered, barely able to form words, let alone sentences. There was a light deep within Undyne’s eye, one she hadn’t seen before but kept her entranced, almost afraid to give it a name.

 She didn’t have to. Undyne squeezed her hands tight and said, rather cheerfully, “Also... I love you, too.”

 “Y-you _heard_ that?!” Alphys squeaked out. She had planned to confess her love _today_ , over a romantic dinner to mark the day, and _not_ in a post-coital haze when she thought Undyne was already asleep. 

Undyne laughed happily. “Of course I did! You always forget: if I’m not snoring or drooling, I’m not asleep yet.”

(She  _had_ heard it, and stayed awake most of the night with a wide eye and a silly grin on her face, planning her morning ruse perfectly in order to make sure they were on the same page.)

 Alphys stared at her. Then her eyes widened, feeling light-headed. “W-wait…” she said slowly. “J-just now, before I… wh-when you..."

Her words trailed of when Undyne nodded, her smile so wide it was rather toothy.

 When Undyne dropped to her knees, Alphys stopped breathing. Undyne’s hair was still loose, falling over her shoulders and chest like a fiery, frizzy waterfall. “Classic, right?” she wondered, beaming at her. "Saw it in a manga once..."

 Alphys gulped, her heart pounding. “I-I-I…” she tried, before shutting up, her whole body breaking into a shocked sweat.

 “I meant what I said,” Undyne said gently, pulling one of Alphys’s hands to her lips and kissing it gently, before going on. “I meant to ask you before we made love, but…” Her smile turned shy, looking away for a moment, blushing. “Well.” She met Alphys’s gaze again. “So… Alphy, wanna get mar—?"

 Alphys leapt at her before she could finish, throwing her arms around Undyne’s neck and hugging her so hard Undyne’s laugh was a little choked.

Immediately, Alphys’s tears ran down her cheeks, crying out, “Of course, _yes, of course_ , are you _nuts_?!”

 Undyne hugged her back tightly, burying her face into Alphys’s neck. To her surprise, she felt that Undyne’s eye and cheeks were wet.

“Yeah, I’m nuts, Alphy,” Undyne said, her laugh a little teary. "For  _you_ , my squirrel.”

 Alphys laughed and cried at the same time, the pun so bad it was perfect, unable to resist forcing all of her weight against Undyne and forcing her to fall backwards, pinning her beneath. Both were crying now, and they kissed, their first kiss toward another future.

* * *

By the time Alphys’s phone rang (Grillby’s, she knew; the confirmation call for her order.), they were both still on the floor, gasping for breath, Alphys not remembering where she had thrown her robe. She opened her eyes, jolting back to herself, and Undyne sighed a little, clearly favouring Alphys over breakfast.

 Undyne waited on the floor as Alphys took the call, confirming the order and getting an estimate on when it would be ready. “An hour,” Alphys said once she hung up, sitting down on the floor beside Undyne again. “Can you wait that long, or should we have a snack?”

 Undyne smiled at her widely, her tongue sliding over her lips slowly. Alphys stared at her, shocked at her body’s instant reaction to such a simple gesture. “I need a snack,” she said, her voice a little husky.

 “Er…” Alphys hesitated. “We could have frozen yo—,”

 “Nope,” Undyne replied, reaching up and pulling her back down to the floor, kissing her again. Alphys kissed back, finally getting the joke, and she decided that this was a perfect way to use the time.

* * *

 By the time they were both exhausted again, Alphys’s phone rang. Alphys sighed, ignoring it. She didn’t mind her breakfast becoming brunch.

 “Gonna get it?” Undyne wondered, voice thick.

 “No,” Alphys replied. “Later. I-I wanted to tell you…” She blushed, and Undyne looked at her, smiling gently. “I-I didn’t forget. I had to-today all planned out, to make it special. And I-I was going to ask you… too.”

 Undyne blushed, looking surprised. “You were? Really?”

 “Oh!” Alphys laughed a little, waving her hand a bit. “N-not _that_ … Th-the… er…” She looked down, her hands getting tangled together. “Pro-proposal thing. After I... told you I loved you.”

 Undyne sat up in surprise, looking down at her. “You were? Seriously?” She smiled brightly. “Great minds do think alike, don’t they? Though…” She scratched her cheek, looking away. “I guess I messed up all of our plans, huh? Including mine.”

 “What changed your mind?” Alphys wondered.

 “You did,” Undyne replied easily. “You were just so…” She smiled wider. “Just so…”

 “What?” As far as Alphys knew, the entire night, she had acted her usual normal – meaning weird – self, unable to stop rambling on and on about the silliest things. Undyne had listened to her every word, watching her with a smile, her eye warm. “I was so what? Weird?”

 Undyne reached down and grabbed Alphys’s face in her hands, searching her face so closely, Alphys was frozen.

“No, nerd,” Undyne answered. “You were so… _you_ , Alphy. Just _you_. I…” She smiled shyly. “I didn’t want to wait another second, even if it meant screwing up all of my plans.”

 “Th-that’s how _I’ve_ felt, since the day I met you,” Alphys blurted out without thinking. “I love you, for you being _you_.”

 To her surprise, Undyne teared up again, though her smile was bright and a little crooked. Keeping hold of Alphys’s face, Undyne pulled her close and kissed her. Alphys didn’t realise it, but she was crying, too.

* * *

  It was rather amazing how long two monsters like them could go without food, if you thought about it. When Alphys’s phone rang, it was only then that they remembered their hunger.

When Alphys stood up to answer it quickly, Undyne’s phone suddenly started ringing, too. Surprised, she got to her feet to get it.

 Alphys was apologising over and over again to Grillby when Undyne came back. Grillby was so irritated by her tardiness that he actually said more than two sentences.

During the call, Undyne stayed quiet through her own, though her face was pulled into a scowl, clearly listening to something she did not like. Once Alphys hung up, Undyne noticed, and instantly began to talk.

 “Okay, shut up, now,” Undyne said, her voice hard. “I didn’t ask you to cook because I didn’t want to get food poisoning the night before my anniversary, and I _still_ do not want to, thanks.” She paused, and Alphys heard Papyrus’s voice, though she couldn’t make out the words. “Hey! Don’t blame _me_ for _your_ lack of talent!”

 Alphys waved a hand, catching her gaze, and pantomimed going to get their food. Undyne nodded, pouting a little when Alphys got dressed. Alphys waved to her again, and she waved back with a smile.

She walked in a kind of daze, always happy that they were only a ten-minute walk from Grillby’s, located in a mall that catered to monsters (though that didn’t mean humans didn’t enjoy and spend time there.). It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun out and blazing on her shoulders in a gentle way that made her feel even happier.

 She was definitely hungry now, though it was accompanied with an odd shakiness in her legs and stomach that she knew was not related to that hunger. She was smiling, though she didn’t realise it, nor did she notice the slight skip in her walk, or how much taller she stood, instead of hunching like usual. She didn’t feel like hiding anymore.

  _Undyne loves me. Is my lover. Even wants to marry me…_

 She felt invincible, so much so that when she walked into Grillby’s, the monsters there who knew her barely recognised her. When Grillby handed her the bag of food with a silent glower, she overpaid and spoke in a happy, lilting tone, actually giggling a little.

 (After she left, Catty turned to Bratty and whispered, “Like, did Dr Alphys, like, just giggle or whatever?” When Bratty nodded, Catty then asked, “Do you, like, think she got lucky?”

 “Catty!” Bratty exclaimed, carefully covering her snout with a manicured hand. “Are you high or something? Like that would _ever_ happen. Have you been drinking nail polish again or something?”

 “Oh my god, Bratty! No more than usual!” Catty replied cheerfully, ending that conversation rather abruptly.)

* * *

 The moment she opened the door, Alphys heard Undyne’s voice. She was shouting into the phone – not very unusual when she spoke to Papyrus (one time, they actually held a contest over the phone to see how loud they could be before the phone’s reception started to suffer.) However, her tone was sharper than usual, and Alphys paused for a moment.

 “You can’t expect me to give you a full schedule of my plans, Papyrus! And besides, they turned out for shit, anyway. This way is better!” She paused. “ _I say so!!”_

 Alphys sighed, deciding that it was probably best if she occupied herself with reheating their food over trying to intervene and make peace. It didn’t work, anyway.

 “Wait! _What?!_ _What_ did he just say? What did your lazy brother _just say?!”_

 Alphys paused, not liking how angry Undyne sounded, now. This wasn’t normal at all, and she wondered if she should be trying to help, after all.

 “Put him on the phone. Put him on the phone, now. _Now_.” A long pause, then, “Yeah, _you!_ You lazy, freeloading, prickless bag of bones! Say that shit again, _I dare you!_ ” It was said in a sneering tone, one that clearly wasn’t expecting an answer. Therefore, when she did get one, and it wasn’t one she liked, she started shouting, only even louder, now, freezing Alphys in place.

 “That’s _none_ of your damned business, and you know it.” A pause. “Yes, I remember what I said! Yes, I meant it _when_ I said it! But _not now!_ ” Another pause. “Stop. _Stop. Stop it!!_ Stop saying it like that, you _crass asshole! Stop!!”_

 Alphys turned, already making her way to the bedroom. Food could still wait. (Though she did quickly scarf down one of her pancakes, unable to resist.) When she reached the doorway, Undyne was sitting on the bed, one hand tangled into her hair, the other holding her phone tightly, so tight it shook. Her teeth were bared, and she was clearly furious.

 Then, in a tone that Alphys had never heard before, Undyne suddenly leapt to her feet and screamed out the following: “It’s none of your business and you know it, sans! _Stop!_ Stop saying it like that! I _know_ I did! I’m not saying it _now_ , and I would _never say it again!”_

She shut her eye tight, her fingers pulling at her hair. “It’s _not!_ It’s _not_ some pointless fling! Do you ever _listen_ to your brother?! Are you even listening to _me?!”_

Suddenly, her eye blazed, a bright glint shimmering from beneath her hair, where it hid her left eye, and her face turned rather homicidal. “Listen to me! _Listen!_ I am going to _marry_ her, you asshole! Yes! _Yes!_ _Why?!_ Why would you _ever_ think that of me _now?!”_

 Her voice cracked suddenly, and Alphys rushed into the room, at her side instantly. She placed a hand on Undyne’s shaking shoulder, stopping her pacing. Her eye flicked over to her, and Alphys said, as gently as possible, “Hang up, Undyne.”

By this time, Undyne was in enraged tears, her voice soaked in hurt. Wordlessly, instead of hanging up, Undyne shoved the phone at Alphys, before dropping back down onto the bed, covering her face with her hands, shoulders shaking.

 Alphys felt anger lick up and down her blood at this. Though she and sans weren’t close, per se, they were still friends.

However…

 “What did you say to her?” she demanded of him.

 A pause, then sans said, “alphys?”

 “Who else?” she heard herself snap at him.

 “are you alright?” he sounded odd when he asked.

In the background, she heard Papyrus say, “SHE’S WITH UNDYNE! OF COURSE SHE IS!”

 “He’s right,” Alphys agreed, her voice colder than Snowdin. “What did you say to Undyne, sans?”

 sans coughed, before saying, “i may have implied something poorly.”

 “Like what?”

 Another cough. “that, based on a past discussion, she was merely using you for scale-polishing.”

 Alphys felt that hot anger flood her whole body, now. She was too angry to answer right away, which turned out fine, as Papyrus was saying in dismay, “MUST YOU PUT IT THAT WAY, BROTHER? DON’T YOU KNOW THAT THE DOCTOR AND UNDYNE ARE THE NUMBER-ONE SHIP ON UNDERNET?”

  _That_ was news that Alphys wished she could appreciate. Her eyes were on Undyne, though, who was still hunched over, head in her hands, and she could not.

 Alphys gritted her teeth and said through them, “What exactly did you say to my fiancée, sans? And then explain why I shouldn’t dismantle you the next time I see you.”

 There was silence on the other end, but Undyne’s head jerked up in surprise, staring at Alphys as if she didn’t recognise her.

 “you’ve… never threatened me before,” sans observed slowly.

 “You’ve never crossed me before,” she answered.

 “that’s… technically true, though it was undyne you could say i crossed.”

 “ _No._ ” To her own surprise, Alphys’s voice was a growl. Her free hand was clenched, her claws digging into her palm. “No, no, no, _no_. It’s the same thing, now. Tell me what you said to her, _now_.”

 “Alphy…” Undyne’s voice was soft, but Alphys shook her head, assuming (incorrectly) that Undyne was trying to get her to calm down.

 “i’ve known undyne longer than you have, doctor,” sans was saying, his voice strangely calm. “when it comes to people, she loves, but never beyond platonic love. i’ve kept my jaws shut for an entire year, but when my brother told me what undyne told _him_ , i said that it was likely just scratching an itch that had never been there before, and would never itch again.”

 Alphys saw red at this. “Don’t even try,” she snapped. “You didn’t say it that way. Let me guess: you said, for her, I was a ‘fuck-and-chuck’?”

 “AAAHH! IT’S FAR MORE VULGAR WHEN THE DOCTOR SAYS IT! I BARELY RECOGNISE HER!”

 Undyne was staring at her, still, and when she said this, her face changed, and she wiped the tears from her face, her breaths slowing.

 “well, you’re smart, so of course you’d get the wording just right.”

 “And you think that’s _funny_?!”

 “nope, on the contrary. i’m worried about the both of you, especially you. everyone knows how sensitive you are, how you always wear your heart on your sleeve—,”

 “ _No!_ ” Alphys broke in furiously. “No, no! Don’t use _me_ as an excuse! You said it to hurt Undyne, and you meant to. Why?”

 “you really want to hear it from me?”

 “FOR THE LOVE OF CINNAMON BUNNIES!”

There was the sound of the two brothers scuffling over the phone, before Papyrus clearly won and continued. “ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN, DR ALPHYS. SANS ONCE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH UNDYNE, IN WHICH SHE DISMISSED LOVE AND… UM… THE REST OF IT… FOR NERDS AND LOSERS WITH NO LIVES. BEFORE SHE MET YOU, OF COURSE.”

He paused, and Alphys kept quiet. “FOR REASONS ONLY KNOWN TO HIM, HE FELT THE NEED TO REMIND UNDYNE OF THIS, AS WELL AS HER… UNFORTUNATE WORDING. HE ALSO SAID THAT HE KNEW SHE HADN’T CHANGED, THOUGH EVEN I KNOW SHE HAS. AND HOW!” He said it cheerfully, and she could almost hear the smile in his voice.

“I LOVE MY BROTHER…” A confused pause. “…WHO JUST VANISHED? OKAY… BUT HE IS KIND OF… LONG IN MEMORY, AND TENDS TO GET LOST IN IT. I, HOWEVER, WAS NOT CURSED WITH SUCH A PROBLEM, AND BARELY REMEMBER MY BREAKFASTS! NYEH-HEH-HEH-HEH!”

 Alphys closed her eyes, the laugh oddly calming her. A touch to her shoulder jolted her eyes open, and Undyne was standing beside her, leaning close to listen along with her.

“Thanks, Papyrus,” Undyne said into the phone, her voice soft from shouting. “I’ll kill your brother later, okay?”

 “PLEASE TRY NOT TO. I DO NEED HIM, AFTER ALL.”

 “May I, then?” Alphys wondered, bringing a small smile to Undyne’s lips. (Though Alphys wasn’t really kidding.)

 “NO, YOU MAY NOT. I’LL TRY TO TALK SENSE INTO HIM, BUT I DOUBT IT’LL WORK, AS HE NEVER LISTENS TO ME, DESPITE MY NOW OUTRANKING HIM. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM MURDERING HIM UNTIL THEN.”

 Undyne finally laughed, and Alphys felt her anger uncoil from her gut, especially when she felt Undyne’s arm go around her waist. Alphys handed Undyne back her phone with a smile, and she took it, though Alphys was still close enough to hear.

 “Fine, fine, we’ll try to contain ourselves,” Undyne said, sounding like she felt better. With a brief exchange, she hung up.

 Alphys looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry. F-For losing my temper…”

 Undyne was shaking her head the moment she started talking, instead pulling her closer and kissing her, smiling brightly. “Forget it. Let’s eat!”

* * *

  Alphys stayed quiet while they ate. Undyne noticed, looking at her worriedly between bites, while Alphys merely pushed her food around, taking only a few bites. When she saw Undyne had finished, she got up and cleaned the table mechanically, though Undyne stayed in her seat, arms crossing over her chest and loosening her already loosely-tied robe. She watched Alphys clean up in silence.

 It was only when Alphys stopped, hunching over the sink that Undyne got to her feet. “Alphy?” she said softly. She didn’t turn around, instead trying to curl over the sink more, as if she could hide. Her chest hurt, and she put a hand there, shutting her eyes.

 “Alphy? Are you okay?”

 When she shook her head without thinking, Undyne walked over to her and slid her arms around Alphys’s waist, resting her cheek on top of her head. “Tell me,” she said gently.

 Swallowing hard, trying to swallow her tears, she shook her head, her hand still over her chest.

 “Alphy, please talk to me. Please?”

 She hated that Undyne sounded so hurt, but she just couldn’t talk yet. She knew if she tried, she’d just cry, but when Undyne again asked, she tried, anyway. “I…” She had barely gotten it out when the tears ran down her cheeks.

 Undyne pulled her from the sink gently, turning her around and hugging her close. Alphys clung to her suddenly, gritting her teeth to stop the tears, but it was no use. So she tried again. “D-don’t hate me, p-please…?” she managed, before she choked up.

 “Alphy, what are you talking about?” Undyne wondered, rubbing her back slowly, her other hand reaching down to pull Alphys’s hand from her chest. “Is… is it what sans said? Do you believe him, that… I…?”

 “No!” Alphys jolted to her full height, looking up at Undyne desperately. Her glasses were fogged up now, and she knew she looked a mess. “No, no! _No!_ It’s not… it’s _me_ …” She shut her eyes tight. “I… don’t want y-you to be scared of m-me!”

  _“Scared_ of you…” Undyne looked bemused, now. “Scared of _you?”_

 Alphys nodded. “I… I got so angry… I should have just sh-shut up! I ha-hate when I get that way!”

 Undyne squeezed Alphys’s hand tightly, her thumb gently rubbing over the top of her knuckles. Alphys relaxed, burying her face into Undyne’s shoulder, still weeping, listening to Undyne’s heartbeat.

 “Alphy…” Undyne sighed her name. “You are such a _nerd_. I’m not _scared_ of you! I’m _proud_ of you!”

 Alphys again jolted to her full height. “Wh-what?!”

 Undyne pulled her close again, smiling. “I said I’m proud of you, weenie.”

 “F-for sounding cr- _crazy?!”_

 Undyne laughed a bit. “That was a bonus, yes, but no. I’m proud because…” She hesitated. “You defended me. Us. And, you trust me. Enough to yell at sans, of all monsters.”

 Alphys stared at her, searching her face for any sign that this was a joke. There was none. “Of c-course I would! I-I don’t care what you _said!_ I care about what you _say_ _now!”_

 Undyne shut her eye at this, resting her cheek back atop Alphys’s head. She whispered, “ _Dammit_ , Alphy. I love you _so_ _damned_ _much_. It feels like I always have, and always will…”

 Alphys broke down completely then, sobbing so hard they both trembled from it. Undyne held her tight, unable to keep her own tears from falling, now.

 Then, the doorbell rang.

 Undyne looked up first, then Alphys. They looked as one to the door, then back at each other. Alphys was the only one actually dressed, whereas Undyne only wore her robe. “I’m dressed,” she said, forcing a small smile. “I’ll be right back.”

 When she answered the door, her body reacted before her brain could. As soon as she saw who it was, her face darkened and she slammed the door shut, as hard as she could. She stood there, claws out and shaking, glaring at the door as if she could destroy it with her tear-blurred glare.

 “okay,” said sans from the other side of it. “i deserved that.”

 Alphys snapped out, “You’re damn right you did!” She flung the door open again, barely seeing him. He stood slouching, hands in his pockets, looking cheerfully miserable.

 She had barely taken it all in when she reached out and slapped him.

 That single gesture would never be forgotten, long after she and Undyne became dust. The fact was that Dr Alphys, the once Royal Scientist to King Asgore, seen only as a reclusive, naive, shut-in wimp, had actually landed a physical blow on the most slippery of monsters that had ever been known to exist. It was _that_ , and not her past crimes, that guaranteed her immortality: that single loss of temper.

 He staggered, actually turning in a half-circle before dropping down hard, his eyes becoming empty pits the moment the flat of her hand touched him. Though her claws were sharp, she did no visible harm to him, but it still must have at least been jarring. Her arm felt jarred, her hand hurting from his bony jaw.

Now on the ground, he shut his empty eyes, rubbing his jaw slowly. “And did I deserve _that_?” he wondered, his voice deep and almost – no, definitely – dangerous.

 Alphys stood over him, shaking her hand a little, her anger still blazing. _“Yes!”_ she said, her whole body shaking.

 Sans said nothing for a moment, then slowly pushed himself to his feet, hand still on his jaw. When he opened his eyes again, they were normal, as was his voice. “y’know, not many people do that and live,” he said casually.

 She slammed the door on him in response at once.

 Undyne, who had taken the time to pull on a shirt and shorts, was now at her side. She stood a bit behind Alphys, her loose hair tangled around her face, her eye huge with shock.

 “Uh…” she said slowly. “Did… you just… slap sans?”

 “He’s lucky I didn’t kill him!” was Alphys’s acidic reply.

 “i can still hear you.”

 Undyne grinned at the closed door, a hand on her hip. “I don’t think she cares, bone-boy.”

 Alphys opened and closed her hand, trying to get the numbness out. Undyne took it in her free hand, pulling it to her lips and kissing each claw gently with a smile. Alphys felt herself blush a little, calming a bit, though still angry.

 “You, Alphy…” Undyne’s smile turned mischievous, “are so _hot_ right now.”

Alphys stared at her now, the angry slowly ebbing, noticing that again Undyne wore that expression she now recognised: pride.

 “ugh, please don’t. not until i’ve said what i need to and am long gone.”

  _“Who says you’ve earned that right?!”_ Alphys exploded.

 sans opened the door, and Alphys instantly moved to close it. Before she could, he shoved his slippered foot between him and the door, stopping it.

For a moment, they stared at each other, Alphys enraged and sans wearing his almost-perpetual grin – though his eyes looked wary and he still held his hand to his jaw.

 “Hm…” A touch to her shoulder, and Undyne said softly, “Alphy? Let’s hear him out, okay?”

 Alphys looked at her, seeing the lingering hurt remaining in her eye, but the sincerity there was genuine.

Alphys sighed and moved away from the door, and sans slunk in, beelining away from her as she closed the door behind him. She leaned against the door, arms crossed, and Undyne stood with her hands on her hips, both waiting for him to hurry up and talk. He was clearly uncomfortable, but neither Undyne nor Alphys felt like helping him.

 “okay,” said sans finally, holding up his hands, as if deflecting their glares. “i _did_ deserve both of those reactions.” When Undyne nodded at him (Alphys rolled her eyes), he looked at her. “but you _did_ say that, undyne. and alphys is—,”

 “What? Do tell me what I am,” snapped Alphys.

 Undyne nodded. “I’d like to know, too,” she added.

 “fine.” He looked at them, his eyes narrowed. “fickle. you’re fickle, both of you, in different ways. alphys remains closed off to the world despite being in it. you, undyne, remain reckless and careless even though there is no one left to fight. you’re both going to destroy each other. i know it.”

 Both stared at him in silence. Undyne’s face went lethal, but Alphys felt as if she’d been punched, the anger slowly being replaced by dismay. For her, the words felt far too real, as if he was taking her worst insecurities and lying them bare for all to see – and ridicule.

 Suddenly, Undyne’s hand clamped down onto Alphys’s shoulder, startling her. She looked up, and saw that Undyne was grinning – her smile sharp and furious, yes, but real.

_Why?_

 “You stupid, bony bastard,” she said, sounding cheerful and angry at once. “Have you not even accepted what just happened to you, now?” She leaned forward towards him, her teeth bared. “Too embarrassed?”

 sans blinked at her for a moment, before something in his eyes clicked. He touched his jaw and looked away, silent, but obviously calculating.

 “You made me _cry_ , you prickless ass,” Undyne added. “And you pissed Alphy off enough to make her actually _hit_ you! And you really think people – especially us monsters – can’t change?!” She laughed derisively. “I pity you, sans!”

 Alphys stared up at her, those words calming her a bit.

 sans looked at them, his pinpoint eyes searching their faces carefully, still calculating. There was something there that Alphys suddenly recognised, a kind of hopeless sadness, as if he knew something – or everything – none of them ever could; as if he could see things from everywhere, all at once.

 Something tugged at Alphys’s memory, a name and a face, a face and a name for both a person and a weapon, but she couldn’t place it, couldn’t find that name…

 _Yet_.

 “don’t waste your pity,” sans was saying, dragging her out of her confused reverie. “after all, i don’t have a pity-uatary gland.”

 And he spread his arms in a shrug and winked.

 “Is that your way of apologising?” Alphys wondered.

 “yep.” He held his hand out to her, surprising her. “i’m wrong. who knew? i sure as hell didn’t.”

 Alphys hesitated, then took it. He actually shook hands with her, for real, with no jokes or “misplaced” whoopee cushions attached. He turned to Undyne and then offered her the same, and she grinned, shaking his hand so hard they heard his teeth rattling.

 When sans let go and managed to focus his eyes again, he eyed them both. “you two really getting married?”

 Alphys blushed a little, looking away, but Undyne grinned, nodding, holding up a victorious fist in the air. “We are, but you’re not invited.”

 “hah!” sans snorted. “like that’s ever stopped me.”

He turned to Alphys again, searching her face closely. She stared at him, finding herself standing taller under this scrutiny, and his eyes danced. “too bad. i never got to used my ‘gillfriend’ joke.”

 Undyne blushed angrily, but Alphys rolled her eyes again. “We’re not going to throw you any more bones.”

 sans stared at her, then actually laughed. It was probably one of the few times anyone had seen him laugh for real, and it brought a smile to both Alphys’s and Undyne’s faces.

 “well played, doctor,” he concluded, saluting her. With a shrug, he walked past them down the hallway toward the back door.

When they turned the corner to see where exactly he planned to go, he was already gone, the back door untouched.

 “I would love to learn how to do that,” Undyne admitted.

 “Seems like it costs too much to be worth it,” Alphys said seriously.

Then, without another word, she turned to Undyne and hugged her tightly. Undyne hugged her tighter, her hair tickling Alphys’s neck a little.

 “Hey,” Undyne said gently, breaking a long – but comfortable – silence.

Alphys looked up at her, finding that Undyne looked at her with tenderness and warmth. Alphys smiled at her, feeling her heart practically blossoming within her from that warmth.

 “Yes, Undyne?” she asked.

 Undyne, in reply, kissed her.

The perfect answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am amazed and humbled by the praise this fic has gotten, so here is the second chapter earlier than I planned. Now I am off to hide under a pile of blankets and pretend that I did not, in fact, go past 90 pages and plan on more due to encouragement..... ehehe.....

“Ah… Okay, that’s… _excellent_ …”

Alphys paused when Undyne first spoke, then grinned. They sat in their favourite chair in their small living room, Alphys sitting rather carefully on Undyne’s lap, not a stitch of clothes on either of them. One of Alphys’s hands was slipped between Undyne’s legs, her fingers carefully exploring slippery flesh that she already seemed to know so well, with an ease she never though she could ever possess – especially naked.

Undyne’s hands were at her hips, fingers digging in harder the deeper Alphys’s fingers went, making small noises each time Alphys pressed in close. Undyne’s head was tilted back, her eye shut tight and her teeth gritted. She had growled the words out between her teeth, and her tone was so thick with desire that Alphys blushed, feeling her own arousal growing with each sound Undyne made.

Alphys gripped onto the back of the chair with her free hand, both to keep her balance, as well as occasionally reach to touch Undyne’s hot cheeks, tracing her features with a feather-light finger.

“Hm… You sure?” Alphys wondered, smiling widely. Undyne’s eye snapped open, especially since Alphys held her hand carefully still.

Between gasped breaths, Undyne snapped out, _“Hey!_ Yes! Alphy, I didn’t say _stop!_ ” She squirmed a little beneath Alphys, trying to pull her closer, as well as deeper, her eye shutting again.

“Ohh, okay…” Alphys giggled, resuming her careful – but quickening – exploration, leaning in close to kiss Undyne’s neck gently.

Undyne’s arms went around her tightly, her face buried into Alphys’s shoulder, and she growled again, the sound mixed with a slight whimper. “Alphy… _more_ … _that_ … _more!_ ”

Alphys grinned and of course obliged, moving to kiss Undyne, who was already reaching up to grab her face and do the same. Undyne whimpered against her lips, sounding desperate, and Alphys could feel both muscle and body clenching against her, the feeling sending Alphys into a mini-haze of her own. As their tongues danced against each other, Alphys kept her eyes open, watching Undyne’s roll upwards, then close tight, before she threw her head back once more. At that look, Alphys knew exactly what to do.

 _“Alphy…”_ Undyne whimpered, as Alphys resumed her kissing of her neck, with a smile. Her hands reached up and clutched at Alphys, one hand behind her head, the other still around her. “Okay, that's… _yeah_ … _Alphy_ …!”

Alphys closed her eyes in pleasure, loving the sound of her name in that voice. Undyne arched her back, gasping out, her eye snapping open again so wide it looked black. _“Ah, Alphy… Alphy…!_ ” And she made that one special sound, the one only the two of them knew: a shout that was combined with triumph and desperation, her hands scrabbling desperately at Alphys’s back as she came. Alphys slowed her hand as Undyne gasped beneath her, holding her close, not ever wanting to let go.

Slowly, Alphys pulled her hand away, bringing a small sound of protest from Undyne, who was now far too tired to use actual words. Undyne collapsed, her hands limp at her sides, now, and Alphys slid to stay close to her, listening to her racing heart.

“Water…?”

Alphys raised her head, looked, and found the glass of water she had brought over before starting this; she grabbed it and gave it to Undyne, who held it between both hands shakily as she drank it down, so fast it impressed her.

When it was empty, she handed it back, eye still closed, and Alphys set it aside, resuming her snuggling. “…sorry.”

Undyne didn’t say a word, the only thing keeping her sitting up the chair they both shared. She wore a silly smile, one that Alphys truly adored. “You’re a dork,” Undyne replied finally, her arms moving to loop loosely around Alphys’s waist. “ _Why_ are you sorry…?”

Alphys blushed, leaning close to her and burying her face into her neck, bringing another deep sigh forth. “We didn’t make it to the bedroom.”

Undyne snorted, then laughed, one hand going up and over her eye, the other clutching at Alphys’s back for balance. “Do I _look_ like I have a problem with that?!” she gasped out between laughs, and Alphys couldn’t help but laugh as well, though she was still rather shy about it.

It was the chair they loved to cuddle in together, the one closest to the TV, the piano, and the fireplace. At this moment, the TV was off, and far more than cuddling had just concluded, but still. This was the first time it had been used for this specific activity, and Alphys was completely to blame for this. Undyne didn’t seem to mind; in fact, it seemed like she rather liked seeing this side of Alphys, judging by her smile.

Alphys shifted closer to her, and Undyne pulled her toward her, her eye closing again, still wearing that smile. Alphys herself felt both giddy and tired, full of energy but also very lazy. It was really nice.

“Alphy.”

She looked up. Undyne was staring at her, smiling, yes, but also looking at her as if seeing her for the first time.

Confused, Alphys sat up, reaching up and placing her hands gently on Undyne’s cheeks. “A-are you okay? What is it?”

“I’m fine.” Undyne smiled wider, nodding. Alphys relaxed, smiling in return. She loved the way Undyne was looked at her now, her expression increasing her heartbeat from both desire and happiness. “I just… _really_ like it when you do that, when we do _this_.”

Alphys blushed a little, looking to the side. “Er,” was all she could think of to say to this. She didn’t know _what_ was going on with her, but lately – a month to their wedding, almost to the day – she had been feeling rather… desperate, urgent, almost.

_I don’t want to lose what I have, but if I have to lose it, I want to make sure to make the most of it…_

“Alphy, I love you.”

Alphys smiled. “You always say that, always when you're high on orgasms.”

It was absolutely the wrong thing to say, and she regretted it almost the moment it left her mouth.

Undyne stiffened beneath her, and she raised her head, biting her lip hard. Undyne looked down at her, and she looked hurt. Alphys looked away.

“I-I… I’m k-kidding.” Alphys added hastily, only half-lying now. Undyne stared at her, her breathing slowing, arms forming a closer hold around Alphys’s waist and keeping her in place. Alphys froze: once again Undyne had seen through her and had managed to stop her from running away.

“You’re not,” Undyne snapped, her eye narrowed. “Not totally. You don’t believe me when I say that I love you?”

Alphys bit down harder on her lip, shutting her eyes tight and lowering her head, unable to speak.

Of _course_ she believed Undyne when she said it; she knew Undyne _never_ lied to _her_. So why was _she_ lying to _Undyne_?

That was easy. The answer hit her so hard she cringed. She was lying because she had no confidence in herself; she figured that Undyne would tire of her eventually, despite Undyne daily proving her wrong. She now realised, the closer they came to the wedding, the more terrified she became.

Every morning, she woke up wondering fearfully, _Is it today? Is it all going to end today?_

Undyne looked away, seeing the answer on Alphys’s drawn face and hearing it in her silence. Alphys stared at the floor, her lip hurting by now, but still unwilling to speak.

“What will it take?” Undyne wondered softly, her voice sounding exhausted and sad. “When will you get it, Alphy? I’m not going _anywhere_ , not unless you _want_ me to.”

Alphys shut her eyes. Without thinking, she answered. “E-everyone who trusts me, I hurt. O-or they end up seeing me as s-something… _disgusting_ …”

“I’m _not_ everyone!” Undyne protested, grabbing Alphys’s shoulders and shaking her a little.

Alphys blinked in surprise, her eyes on Undyne’s automatically. "I-I know,” she admitted. “B-but I’ve done… I’ve d-done…”

Undyne pulled her close, silencing Alphys, instantly soothed by her strong, comforting arms. Alphys moved closer, shutting her eyes, and Undyne kissed her forehead gently.

“I _know_ what you’ve done,” Undyne whispered gently. “I’m still here.”

“I-I don’t ever… want to make you… h-hate me,” she finally admitted, her voice choked with the tears already filling her eyes, the final piece she had been withholding.

She hid her face in her hands, humiliated.

“Alphy.” Undyne’s voice was soft. When Alphys nodded, she said, “I love you, okay?”

She nodded again, sobbing once, before stammering out, “I-I love you, Undyne. S-so much…”

“Then _trust me,_ okay?” Alphys nodded, and Undyne pulled her hands away from her face, leaning down to kiss her eyelids gently.

Alphys kept them shut tight, wishing she could change the way her mind was wired, wishing her abilities and achievements in both science and human media were some kind of magical tools to fix her brain. To her, Undyne deserved better, more than she ever could be. To her, Undyne was settling for less than she ever needed to, settling for a _project_ like Alphys instead of someone _normal_ and _happy_.

But she had no idea how to explain it in a way that made sense to Undyne, that wouldn’t hurt her as a result.

She knew that Undyne loved a challenge, more than anything in the world, but Alphys felt that Undyne was in over her head, and eventually she would drown beneath Alphys’s deficiencies – her greatest nightmare.

Undyne was staring over Alphys’s shaking head, her eye narrowed and dark. She was struggling not to cry, herself, trying to make sure she was strong, because she knew Alphys needed her strength right now. This wasn’t the first time she'd been dismissed, and she knew that it also wasn’t her fault – or Alphys’s. But there had to be _something_ that would make it easier for her Alphy to bear, _something_ that would prove her love once and for all, that Alphys could call up whenever she felt doubt…

Undyne gasped, grinning wildly, the solution hitting her so hard she felt stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

When she jolted upwards, Alphys tripped and tumbled to the floor. Undyne leapt to her feet so quickly that Alphys didn’t see the wild smile or the shining eye; all she saw was Undyne’s retreating back. She sat there, curling up, resting her forehead on her knees, wishing she could curl up tightly enough to disappear.

Undyne hadn’t even looked back when she rushed into their bedroom.

Alphys sat paralysed by this, already covered in cold sweat, waiting for the front door to open and shut, and Undyne to walk away forever…

_“Hey! Alphy! Get dressed!”_

Confused, Alphys raised her head, blinking hard. She didn’t move, however, despite the fact that Undyne’s tone was anything _but_ angry. In fact, it was raised, yes, but over the sound of rushing water. She was showering…?

“Alphy, get up and get _dressed_ , you _dork! Hurry up!”_ She was shouting, sounding excited.

Alphys slowly got to her feet, confused but curious enough to make her way into the bedroom. She pulled on random clothes, barely caring if they matched. She was shaking from head to foot now, but she still got dressed.

She would always follow Undyne, always.

She was sitting on the bed and trying to clean the tears off of her glasses when the water shut off. Moments later, Undyne leapt out, her towel barely drying her scales before she discarded it and started getting dressed. Alphys tried to catch her expression, but her still-wet hair hung heavy, obscuring it.

It was only when Alphys realised what clothes Undyne was putting on that she made a sound – a small, surprised squeak.

Undyne was carefully putting on the clothes they had picked out together: her _wedding_ clothes.

Alphys watched her, frozen to the core, as Undyne quickly braided her hair and twisted it around her head, securing it behind her left ear with a bright yellow flower, then slipped an eyepatch over her eye socket – the colour a shimmering gold instead of its usual black. While Undyne never usually wore them, she actually did like dresses, and was wearing one, now, the colour the exact same as that of her eyepatch. It was a flowing A line that fell mid-calf, with straps that tied together behind her neck, leaving her back bare, though at the moment, Undyne left it untied (her hands were shaking too hard in her excitement to tie them).

“Alphy, c’mere? I need help tying this,” she said, waving Alphys over.

Wordlessly, she complied, her own hands shaking so hard she had to try three times (Undyne was impressed; if she had tried it would have probably taken twice as long.) before getting it right.

Undyne was grinning, but Alphys didn’t see it, her gaze almost blank as she stared at her own hands.

Undyne opened her mouth – then paused, finally seeing what Alphys was wearing.

“Alphy, what the _hell_ are you _wearing_?!” Undyne demanded, scowling.

Alphys’s head jerked up in surprise. “Er,” was all she could think of saying, confused.

Undyne sighed, turning to her and reaching for her clothes, immediately starting to undress her. Alphys was too stunned to protest, when she once again stood half-naked before Undyne, who was turning away again, she remained in that horrible, paralysed fugue.

That is, until Undyne held out _her_ wedding clothes to her: a floor-length, shimmering blue dress that fell in the most flattering way, the straps thicker – almost like a sleeveless T – and there was of course a place for her to poke out her tail.

(When Alphys had first tried it on, Undyne’s eye went wide and her face went scarlet, turning to the salesperson and saying, her voice rather sharp, “This one. _This_ one. _This one,_ _only_ _this_ _one_.” This was good, as Alphys had fallen in love with it, as well.)

“Dress,” Undyne ordered, holding it out. Her lips twitched a little, trying to keep herself from laughing, knowing it would likely only freeze Alphys further.

When Alphys tried to put the dress on, she proved too shaky to even get it over her head, and at one point she was near tears. Undyne instantly stepped in and helped her, her fingers moving over her so lightly she shivered. Undyne’s face was carefully blank, but her blush slowly went from pink to red, especially when she finished by pinning a blue flower onto the frame of Alphys’s glasses.

It was this gesture that finally allowed words to come free. “Undyne…” she hesitated, her hands fumbling a little with the front of the dress. “I… wh-what…?”

When Undyne merely reached down to adjust the flower on her glasses a bit better, Alphys bit her lip. Undyne’s hands slipped down to her face, her eye dancing quite obviously, now.

Finally, she grinned, the single gesture helping slow Alphys’s speeding heart quite nicely.

“We, dear Alphy, are eloping. Right now. Today. The office closes in four hours, so we gotta hurry. We just need to grab the license and go. Is it still on the bookcase?”

“Wh-what? Y-yes, of c-course,” Alphys stammered.

It had been a major fight getting that license, one that would have never happened Underground. Humans had weird and backwards rules about gender and love, and though Frisk did admit that things were getting better, still they had trouble. Clearly, when it came to same-sex couples, the courtesy, barely extended to themselves, barred monsters even further.

Both Undyne and Alphys had fought hard to get that license, for months, to the point of tears and exhaustion (and, once, Undyne almost running to the courthouse, with a slew of blue spears, in her rage; she had almost made it to the bus stop when Alphys managed to bring her home.). When they finally got it, they both cried and laughed, insisting that the document be framed and displayed until they needed it. They’d earned the bragging rights, so brag they would.

But it wasn’t supposed to be used until next month.

Alphys blinked up at Undyne, bemused.

“I’ve figured it out,” Undyne declared, still holding Alphys’s face in her hands. She leaned down toward her, inches from her, and she grinned. “It’s so stupid, this _waiting,_ isn’t it? I feel like…” The grin flickered a moment. “Like the longer we wait, the more scared you become, as if I’ll run away or something. Right? That’s it, isn’t it?”

Alphys stared at her, mouth slightly open in shock. Undyne was right; that was what it was. “Y-yes,” she admitted, her voice strained. There was no point in lying.

Undyne nodded. “Right. You see, for me, I feel like…” She smiled her shy smile, now, looking away for a moment and blushing, before returning her gaze. “I feel like we’ve _always_ been married, sort of. Since we bought this house. Well…” She laughed nervously, shrugging. “Hell, maybe it was ever since you told me you liked me, even.”

Alphys reached up and placed her hands on Undyne’s forearms, unable to speak. She felt too much all at once.

“But, _you!”_ Undyne laughed, giving Alphys’s face a little shake, which brought a surprised giggle of her own forth. “You’re a _scientist_ , duh. You live by numbers, papers, all of that shit, things in nice columns and all of that. So… we have a paper. Let’s _use_ it.” Her eye blazed, now, and her smile was back to its wild glee. “Let’s get married already, Alphy! So that finally…” Her smile flickered to something a little sad. “Finally, you’ll trust me.”

“I-I _do_ trust you!” Alphys burst out, her voice choked. “With my life!”

Undyne, however, shook her head slowly. “I know. But it’s not the same, is it?” She leaned close, brushing her lips lightly over the soft spot between Alphys’s eyebrows. “You’re so fucking _literal_. So let’s _literally_ do this, and keep doing it till we’re dust. Sound good?”

Alphys’s vision went blurry at once, nodding so hard Undyne laughed. “Then let’s go!” she shouted, grabbing Alphys’s hand and pulling her toward the door.

Alphys stumbled, barely having time to grab the license and their IDs, before Undyne pulled her outside. She felt so happy all at once, reality finally breaking through that numb wall, and she felt real happiness flood through her. She had no trouble keeping up to Undyne.

She felt as if she could float above the clouds.

* * *

By the time they left the courthouse, it was night, and they were both giddy and starving. Undyne held Alphys’s hand tightly, not letting go the moment the judge bade them married.

Alphys walked in a semi-daze, unaware of the giant grin on her face, feeling as if the entire evening had rushed by her faster than she could blink.

Undyne was practically skipping, swinging Alphys’s hand with each step, grinning her widest grin and humming under her breath. Strands of red hair had loosened from her braid, and both flowers they wore looked slightly wilted by now (despite being fake), but still Undyne hummed.

Then Alphys realised that Undyne wasn’t humming, but singing one word over and over, in random tunes, “Married, married, married…”

She looked up, and saw Undyne was already beaming at her. She suddenly stopped, then leaned down and scooped Alphys up into her arms, as if she weighed no more than a Froggit. With a happy, triumphant yell, Undyne held Alphys close to her, twirling in place and still singing that one word, as loud as she could, now, her clear, musical voice as on cue as a bronze bell.

Alphys started laughing the moment Undyne began to spin, at first holding onto Undyne tight, finally just surrendering to her laughter, throwing her arms up and her head back, eyes shut. Undyne was delighted, and she spun faster and faster, until they both stumbled and had to stop, dizzy and light-headed but still laughing.

Undyne opened her eye and suddenly noticed they had an audience; several humans who were waiting outside the courthouse office were now staring at the two, looking a mix of three different emotions: confusion, disgust, and wonder. Alphys noticed as well, moving closer to Undyne without hesitating.

Undyne, however, was having _none_ of this. She drew herself up to her full height, threw her arms up in the air, and summoned up four bright blue spears, her eye blazing as dangerously as the spears.

“Fucking _what?!”_ she snarled at them. “Haven’t you ever seen _love_ before?! _Get fucking lost!!”_

They did, pleasing both of them quite a bit.

Undyne smirked, the spears vanishing and her arms lowering, and she looked back at Alphys, who was staring up at her, beaming. “Hey, I just thought of the best idea, Alphy, the only way we could ever spend the night of our wedding.”

Alphys grinned at her. “Order the junkiest of junk food and watch horribly romantic shoujo anime in our wedding dresses until dawn?”

This earned her a tight hug and a long, slow kiss. “Hell, yeah,” Undyne agreed, her eye sparking.

Together, they went home to do just that. Only now Alphys was singing, her tone-deaf voice sounding prettier to Undyne than even Shyren could ever sound.

* * *

A wrench was thrown into their plans the moment they got back, though thankfully it was brief. Undyne had just kicked the door shut behind her, both she and Alphys holding armfuls of junk food, when the doorbell suddenly rang. They exchanged confused looks; neither was expecting anyone.

“Er,” Alphys wondered, “d-do we answer it?” She was eager to start the night, yes, but she was also cursed with curiosity.

Undyne shrugged. “Up to you. Pass me those, please.”

When Alphys gave her the two bags she carried, Undyne effortlessly carried all four - which meant that when Alphys had insisted on helping, Undyne had humoured her to be nice. Undyne did blush, but Alphys merely giggled.

“Be right back,” Alphys said, already walking towards the door. When she answered it, she made the sound she made when someone stepped on her tail in her shock.

There, holding a giant bouquet of blue and yellow roses, stood sans.

Alphys was shocked speechless.

Though they had made amends with sans and eventually warmed up to him again, both Undyne and she regarded him with a degree of jaded wariness, both unable to easily forget how easily he had dismissed both of them. sans, as a result, remained aloof, only piping in when he saw a great chance for a pun. Undyne, she knew, still figured that sans doubted both of them – but her especially – and decided that he wasn’t worth her time for the time being.

But if he had doubts, why was he now standing at their doorway with that bouquet?

“heya,” he said, waving his free hand at her. “congrats.”

With a loud thud, Undyne dropped the bags and stormed over to Alphys’s side at once, her face enraged. “We told _no one!_ Hell, _we_ didn’t even know until a few hours ago! How the hell did _you_ find out?!”

He winked slowly, but said nothing. Instead, he held the bouquet out to her, and she took it practically ripping it from his hand, before storming back to the kitchen.

Both sans and Alphys watched in silence as she loudly filled a vase with water, cut the stems, and arranged the flowers into a beautiful display. The entire time, she scowled at sans.

Alphys slowly turned back to him, noticing that he was shifting from foot to foot. “so… does this mean i can come in?”

“No!” Undyne snarled from the kitchen. “If you know already, then you should know that we would like to be _alone_!”

Alphys, however, decided to open the door fully – something that earned her a rarely-seen grateful look from him.

However, the moment his slippered feet hit the floor, a blue spear slammed in front of them.

He froze at once, his hands up, and Undyne stood beside Alphys again, holding another spear, ready to toss it at him.

Alphys stared at her, noticing quite suddenly just how amazing she looked just then; Undyne didn’t realise just how much she looked like the flowery swordswomen she so admired in anime at that moment, but Alphys did.

“Thank you for the condescending flowers,” Undyne snapped. “They’re fucking lovely. Now go away, come back tomorrow, and say whatever you wanted to say then.”

Gently, Alphys reached out and placed her hand on Undyne’s, the one holding the spear, gazing up at her. Undyne was angry, yes, but also hurt, still. Clearly, she still held a grudge.

However, at Alphys’s touch, Undyne’s face instantly softened, and the spear vanished, instead replacing it with that very hand, holding it tightly. Alphys smiled up at her, before she turned back to sans.

sans had watched them carefully, his face wearing that grin, but with something almost calculated about it.

Alphys said, “Go ahead. We _do_ have plans, so make it quick, okay?"

He nodded. “cool, done. all i wanted to say was: i was right about being completely wrong before, and i wish i had been smarter before i put my friendship with both you at risk. it’s just…”

He shrugged casually. “i’m too damned _old_. i’ve seen way too much break.” He eyed them closely. “except you two.”

He lowered his hands, his eyes now dancing. “you’ve _fin-ally_ gotten me to admit I was wrong.”

Undyne lunged at him, too fast for Alphys to stop her – only to be glad she hadn’t.

Undyne grabbed sans and hugged him, so hard his pinpoint eyes went skywards. “Prickless bag of stupid bones,” she said, though she was grinning, now.

She gave him a final squeeze, then dropped him like a sack of flour. He stumbled, wheezing a bit, a hand to his parka-covered chest. “Oh, and you’re still not invited, even if it’s now a party instead of a wedding,” she added with a wicked glint in her eye.

sans grinned up at her, as did Alphys, both hearing the exact opposite meaning in her harsh words. “yeah, yeah,” sans said, waving his hands in dismissal. “i’ve said what i wanted, so i’m out. have fun.”

And, just like the last time he had surprised them, he walked down their hallway and vanished before they could see him do it.

“Seriously, I know I said it before, but I _really_ want to learn that trick," Undyne murmured.

Alphys opened her mouth to answer, only to have her stomach interrupt her and speak for her. She clapped her hands over her mouth, and Undyne started laughing so hard she had to learn against the wall for balance.

Alphys blushed, then lowered her hands and laughed, too. It _was_ rather funny, after all.

With a final laugh, Undyne slid her arm through Alphys’s, and arm-in-arm, then went into the kitchen to finally begin their perfect night.

* * *

Well… more or less.

“Tell me when I can look.”

“…okay. Now.”

_“…AAAAAUGH!!”_

Alphys buried her face at once back into Undyne’s shoulder as Undyne laughed.

There was much about anime that Alphys adored, but graphic violence was not one of them. Undyne had chosen the anime for their second round of junk food, Alphys only knowing that it had received great reviews. She had no idea what a gore-fest it was.

 _“Undyyyyynnne!”_ she whined, covering her eyes before resuming her hiding, trying to talk over Undyne’s laughing. “Is there _ever_ a safe time I can look?!”

“Sure,” Undyne snorted out. “The credits!”

_“Nooo!”_

“C’mon, one more episode.”

Alphys paused, then heard the gruesome sounds of severing flesh and bone. “I’m _not_ watching!” she answered, unable to hide a shudder.

Undyne noticed and pulled her closer, and Alphys burrowed closer into her embrace. “Okay, we’ll finish this one, then you can pick.”

“Promise?” Alphys murmured, already having one in mind.

“Promise!” Undyne agreed.

Alphys sighed, then nodded. Undyne was holding her so close that she could hear every sound she made deep within her chest, every laugh and gasp, even felt when her heart sped up at some parts. Undyne loved a good sword-and-sorcery show, the more violent the better, and this was the epitome of that. Alphys could stomach a great deal, but she discovered a limit with _this_ particular anime. She _hated_ it, and she realised why: she’d seen enough gore in reality to last her an entire lifetime.

 _“Holy shit!”_ Undyne was shouting gleefully, laughing between words. “Yeah! Cut his head off! _Do it!”_ She cheered to the sound of metal hitting flesh and bone, and she clapped, then threw her arms up in the air. _“Woo! Sweet!”_

Alphys snuggled closer, discovering that if she focused solely on Undyne and the sounds she made, she could easily ignore the TV. Soon, she found herself relaxing, her eyes closed.

“Credits, Alphy,” Undyne said, breaking her out of her half-doze.

She raised her head and looked – only to bury her face again in dismay. _“Augh!_ You lied!”

“No,” Undyne protested. “You said ‘safe’. You didn’t say whether it was safe for yourself.” She grinned. “So I used my own judgement.”

“So mean,” Alphys protested. “And on our wedding night.”

“Mmhm. Well… maybe I wanted you to be scared…”

Alphys looked up at her, scrunching her face up in dismay. “You wouldn’t dare!”

But of course Undyne would, and the glint in her eye confirmed it.

“Sorry, but… You’re _adorable_ when you’re scared, my wife,” Undyne admitted, grinning in a silly, crooked way, trailing her fingers across Alphys’s cheek so gently, Alphys shivered in response.

She also felt a tender stab to her heart: it was the first time Undyne had called her “wife”.

“It-it’s hardly fair, be-because it’s so easy to scare _me_ , and _nothing_ ever scares _you_.”

“Aw, you’re pouting!” Undyne said in delight, pulling Alphys effortlessly into her lap and hugging her closely.

Alphys sighed. “Because you know how to scare me!”

“Someday, I’m sure you’ll scare me, too.”

Alphys snorted at that. “If I do, it’ll be by accident, and even then, I still don’t think you fear _anything_.”

Undyne was silent.

Alphys looked up and saw she was scowling, her face red. “I…” She glared, then looked away. “I _am_ scared of something. It’s stupid.”

“No, you are not,” Alphys answered. “You’re just trying to find any excuse to scare me more often.”

“Ugh! No! I’m _not_ kidding!” Undyne scratched at her hair in her embarrassment, more wisps coming free from her braid. “It’s…” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Bees. I’m scared of bees.” She went scarlet. “Don’t tell anyone!”

Alphys sighed again. “You’re teasing me.”

“No! I am _not_!” Undyne said, her voice louder, now. “They’re _horrible!_ They get all over you, buzzing so loud it’s like they’re in your _brain_ , and if you make even _one_ wrong move, they sting you like the little bastards they are! They’re scary, okay?! _I fucking hate bees!”_

Alphys eyed her closely, noticing that Undyne was definitely not teasing her, now. “Bees?” she echoed.

“Shut the hell up.”

Alphys grinned, unable to help it, as now it was Undyne who wore the pout. She sat up straighter in Undyne’s lap, leaning closer. “Bee-ee-ss?”

“Alphy…”

She leaned closer in response, right against Undyne’s fan-like ear. With a rather devious grin, she whispered, making sure to emphasise the “s”: “Bee-ee-ee-ee-ss-ss?”

Undyne instantly shuddered and squirmed away, falling to her side and hiding her face in her arms. _“Waaaaugh!”_ she moaned, shivering. _“Stop that!_ I _knew_ I should have taken it to dust!”

Alphys giggled. “I think I see what you mean, now,” she admitted, her hand on her cheek as she gazed at the now-pale Undyne. “It _is_ rather adorable when _you’re_ scared.”

“Augh!” Undyne cried. “Revenge wrestling!” And she pounced, tackling Alphys to the couch and onto her back, forcing a burst of new giggles from her. “Just stop that!” she pleaded.

Alphys found she was quite happy where she was at the moment; Undyne had tackled her so easily, had her pinned so nicely, that it was rather comfortable. Undyne was straddling her, her hands on her shoulders, her legs around her waist. The feel of her was very comforting, as well as very, very alluring.

So, smiling up at her, Alphys looked right into her eye and said, “Bee-ee-ss--,”

Undyne snarled at once and covered Alphys’s mouth with her own, her fingers digging into her shoulders harder. Alphys laughed, the sound muffled, and Undyne growled in reply, pinning her down harder and pushing her body right up against hers, no space between them, now.

When she felt Undyne smile against her lips, she had only a split second of warning before one of Undyne’s hands reached beneath her dress, her cool fingers trailing up Alphys’s thigh and higher. Alphys stopped laughing immediately, and now Undyne was chuckling, her fingers hooking around the edge of her (rather embarrassingly revealing but that Undyne adored) underwear.

“Okay,” Alphys said breathlessly, eyes shut. “You win. You win! No more bee talk!”

Undyne dipped her head down, her teeth grazing over her neck and throat, and she shivered.

“Nope,” Undyne answered against her neck, tugging a bit at the underpants, and without thinking, Alphys kicked them off. “Not yet. Not until _you_ do," Undyne concluded, her hand once again beneath Alphys’s dress, her other hand still pinning her by the shoulder.

Then, contact, that single touch that always sent Alphys into a senseless haze, her hands reaching for Undyne and holding onto the first parts she touched, which ended up being Undyne’s forearm with one, her hip with the other. Undyne’s lips curled against her shoulder, and Alphys kept her eyes closed tight, biting down on her lip.

Undyne’s lips trailed lower, her tongue licking over Alphys’s collarbone rather teasingly, and Alphys made a small noise at that.

“Oh, wait.” Undyne let go of her shoulder and sat up, reaching for the remote and shutting the TV off. (Alphys had actually forgotten all about it.) Once she returned, Alphys clung to her, keeping her close.

“Hmm…” Undyne purred against her neck, and again her fingers reached Alphys, her flesh already feeling overheated, the feel of Undyne’s long, deft fingers reaching deep bring a small sound from her, one Undyne didn’t catch (it didn’t matter; she had merely tried to say Undyne’s name).

“More?” Undyne wondered, her voice teasing. Alphys opened her eyes and nodded, before closing them again when Undyne obliged rather nicely. Alphys dug her claws in a little, shifting slightly against both her body and her touch.

Suddenly, practical blindness. Alphys groaned out, squirming hard against Undyne, which in turn drove those lovely fingers deeper…

 _“Gotcha,”_ Undyne whispered, her voice husky. Alphys didn’t know it, but Undyne was grinning, breathing quickly, her eye ablaze as she watched Alphys beneath her.

Alphys whispered something, her voice slowly rising the more she tried to get out, but all she could get out was nonsense. Undyne was touching _just_ right, managing to press right against that one place she thought only she knew she had.

Alphys clutched her forearm tightly, sometimes pulling it closer, sometimes pushing it away, but with each move, feeling a deep, almost rich pleasure slowly build.

“Ah…” Alphys burst out, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. She hadn’t noticed yet, but Undyne had taken her glasses off and placed them on the console table. “U-Undyne… Wait, _you_ haven’t yet…”

“Shh,” Undyne answered. “This is _way_ more fun.”

Before Alphys could protest again, Undyne kissed her, and she couldn’t resist kissing back, by now feeling those brief flashes of heat get quicker and quicker. She clung to Undyne as though for dear life, both hands now clutching at her back, claws digging into her back hard.

Undyne hissed a little, her eye closing for a moment, a small growl pulled from her throat at the feel of that; it was actually rather arousing to her.

Alphys tried to keep kissing her, but her head jerked back, arching against Undyne, her breath quick and raspy, feeling like fire coursed through her veins.

“U-Undyne…” Alphys managed to whisper out, practically begging by now. _“Undyne…”_

When she felt Undyne’s tongue lick the side of her neck in reply, she gritted her teeth. “Hm…?” Undyne murmured.

“I…” Alphys heard her voice hitch, and she arched her back, clinging onto Undyne so hard she actually stumbled. By now, all she could say was Undyne’s name, getting louder and louder but not even caring, not even trying to care.

When it hit, her climax was the most intense she had ever experienced, so much so that her breath caught rather too sharply, and as a result, she blacked out.

 _That_ had never happened before, no matter how intense things got, no matter how hard she gasped. This time, however, it was almost too intense, too _immense_ , and she couldn’t take it.

It happened so suddenly that she went limp almost at once beneath Undyne – so fast that it actually terrified her.

The irony would not be lost on either of them.

The next thing Alphys remembered was the feeling of being shaken, then a voice to go along with it: “Alphy? _Alphys?!_ Hey… _hey!”_

Undyne’s voice caught, and when she protested again, her terror was in each word. “This… this _isn’t funny!”_

She started panicking, her shakes getting more and more frantic. _“Wake up_ , or I’m… I’m gonna…!”

Slowly, as soon as feeling came back, Alphys raised her hand and pressed her palm against Undyne’s chest, over her racing heart, so lightly Undyne didn’t feel it at first.

“Wake up, _right now!_ Alphy…?! _Please…?!”_

Alphys nodded, eyes still closed. “Mmfn,” she answered, though she had tried to say, “I’m fine.” She felt like a puddle in a dress, as if all of her bones had melted, but in the best possible way. It left her feeling rather silly.

Undyne grabbed Alphys into her arms, holding her as close as she could. Alphys could feel her shaking, her hands clutching onto Alphys’s back hard, her face buried in her shoulder. Alphys sighed deeply, the feeling very wonderful and comforting, the feel of Undyne against her always a lovely balm. She kept her hand over Undyne’s heart, rubbing gently, hoping to share that comfort.

 _“Never do that again!”_ Undyne cried into her shoulder. “It was like you stopped breathing! _Never stop breathing, got it?!_ _I’m_ never doing that again!”

“Er… U-Undyne…” Alphys managed to finally get out. “Pl- _please_ do that again. N-not _now_! B-but, later. A-again.”

“You _scared_ me, Alphy!” Undyne protested.

“That’s impossible… I’m not a _bee_ …”

Undyne immediately went rigid against her. Alphys kept her eyes closed, smiling, and Undyne bit her shoulder sharply.

“You’re lucky you’re so cute,  dear wife,” she growled. “Otherwise I’d _kick your ass!”_

“Bah,” Alphys giggled. “I’m _not_ cute.”

“I think I know what cute is.”

“So do I. You’re being so _tsundere_ right now.”

Undyne again growled, which brought another laugh from Alphys.

Until, “Then you’re the _megane_!”

She had Alphys there. “I’m fine with that. They’re not cute.”

Undyne made an impatient noise and sat up, her hands grabbing Alphys’s face. She opened her eyes finally, though her vision was blurry. She could still Undyne well enough, especially if she judged by how warm she felt just looking at her.

“Ah…” she said, her hand slipping up to touch Undyne’s damp cheek. “Better than cute. _Beautiful.”_

Undyne’s face softened instantly. Though obviously rather striking and admired, she was not often called beautiful – or even pretty – unless one was describing her fighting – or being crass.

With Alphys, she knew that there was nothing but sincerity, and thus she responded to it in kind. “Alphy…” she sighed, closing her eye when Alphys’s touch became feather-light, tickling a little. When she nodded, Undyne said. “You _are_ adorable. Fucking _deal.”_

Alphys burst into laughter, so hard she accidentally snorted when trying to catch her breath.

At this, Undyne started laughing, resting her head on Alphys’s chest when she lost her balance, which only brought more laughs and snorts from Alphys.

It was a rather perfect distraction for Alphys. She had the straps of Undyne’s dress untied before she even managed to calm her own laughs.

Undyne blinked in surprise, then grinned. “Whatcha doing, Alphy?”

Alphys merely tugged the dress lower, her fingers following suit, and now Undyne was the one closing her eye and sighing.

This time, it was definitely _her_ turn.

* * *

 That was how most of the night went on, especially when Alphys chose a sappy shoujo that had them both weeping and they paused it to comfort each other. Twice. Which in turn brought out the frozen yogurt and robes and several location changes.

Neither would have wanted it otherwise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MOST IMPORTANTLY:  
> The reason I've kept this chapter so long is due to its subject matter: in-depth discussion and some actions due to suicidal tendencies. YES, THIS IS A TRIGGER WARNING. Please do keep it in mind.
> 
> A few more things on this chapter. In case you haven't noticed, it's the longest one, yet. However, I promise after this big chapter that the chapters will be smaller, if that's a concern. If this one proves too annoying to sit through, I'll try to cut it into two chapters instead. Just leave me a note in the comments and I will do :)
> 
> Secondly:  
> I've kept Frisk gender-neutral despite their age, as I still feel it's important to have Frisk serve as a kind of stand-in for the player. 
> 
> Thirdly:  
> I did start adding to this story, but initially planned to end it after 4-5 chapters. Once I post the original final chapter, if there is a desire for more, I can provide that quite happily. JUST GIVE ME ANY EXCUSE OKAY?! :P
> 
> And lastly: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS RIDICULOUS FLUFF OF A FICTION. Seriously, it keeps me wanting to write more and more, and that's a lifesaver. So, yeah.
> 
> Okay bye! :D

"HOW COULD YOU?!"

Undyne sighed, and Alphys hid behind her. Papyrus stood in the doorway, somehow making his eye sockets look full of tears, his hands clenched under his chin.

"Dammit, sans," Undyne sighed.

"Er," Alphys murmured from behind her. "Sorry. It was probably my fault. I changed my status on UnderNet."

"Dammit, wife," Undyne corrected, before scratching her cheek a little and smiling shyly. "I... may have also done that."

Alphys beamed up at her, delighted, and Undyne blushed, rolling her eye and wearing a silly smile.

Ignoring their words, Papyrus grabbed Undyne into a fierce hug so hard that her arms were pinned to her sides. Her blush deepened a little, and she bent one of her hands at the wrist to try and pat him, managing only to give him a couple on his elbow.

Her smile faded a bit. "I'm sorry," she admitted, looking it.

"I, PAPYRUS, THE GREAT CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, WAS NOT INVITED TO YOUR WEDDING?!"

"Er!" Alphys broke in, stepping out from behind Undyne and waving her hands a little. "You're still invited! It's just now a party instead of the ceremony."

"Like I told your brother, _we_ didn't even know," Undyne admitted. "But, yeah... I really should have told you last night, but... uh..." Her eye met Alphys's, and they both grinned. "We were busy."

They had woken up, their first full day married, to frantic pounding at their front door. They had - somehow - fallen asleep on the floor between the hallway and the bedroom, and Undyne had jolted awake first, surprising Alphys - who was lying on top of her - into falling over onto the floor beside her.

"Who the _fu-_ -," Undyne had snarled, her teeth bared and her expression dark. Before she could even finish, they both heard Papyrus shouting Undyne's name in dismay, and Undyne scrambled to her feet and ran to throw some clothes on, grinning.

Alphys was less enthusiastic, worried his shouting would wake up the neighbours and get them in trouble. She slowly followed Undyne, who was already dressed in shorts and a loose T-shirt (one of Alphys's) and running back to the door. By the time she had shoved him into the house to shut him up, Alphys was dressed in her pyjamas with her robe over them (she was not a morning person, which was why she started hiding behind Undyne).

The hug seemed to do the trick, as now Papyrus's sorrowful tears turned to happiness tears. "YOU'RE MARRIED!" he now sang, squeezing Undyne tightly and dancing with her a bit.

She allowed this for about ten seconds, then wrestled him into a headlock.

"AH! IT'S TRUE! YOUR WIFE STATUS IS SUPER-EFFECTIVE!" She proved it further by cackling and noogieing him. "HELP! DR ALPHYS! HELP! SAVE ME!"

Alphys covered her mouth to smother her giggles, knowing that if she didn't, she would end up snorting quite a bit.

Undyne gave him a final noogie before dropping him to the floor, and he protested this mistreatment for exactly three seconds, before he jumped back onto his feet and turned to Alphys. She only had time to blink before he hugged her to him tightly. She felt her face go bright red, her eyes going straight to Undyne, immediately unsure of what to do with this sudden burst of unexpected affection.

 _"Hey,"_ Undyne snarled at him, though she was smiling deviously. "Hands off my wife! Unless..." And she lunged and wrapped her arms around both of them, hugging them together against her. "Unless I can get in, too!"

"PLEASE STOP ABUSING ME, UNDYNE! IT'S VERY UNDIGNIFIED!" Papyrus answered, whining just a little.

Alphys, however, smiled. "I like it," she admitted.

Undyne laughed, giving them a final squeeze before dropping them both.

"Papyrus, wanna eat with us?" Undyne asked him.

"WOULD I?! I WOULD BE DELIGHTED!" And he practically sparkled at her in his delight.

"Great!" she replied. "Get going! I'll text you on your way with our orders. Sound good?"

Papyrus sagged. "ONCE AGAIN I HAVE FALLEN FOR ONE OF YOUR CRUEL JAPES." And yet despite this, he was still smiling.

"Er," Alphys couldn't help but observing, "but you seem happy about it."

"BECAUSE I AM!" he replied, looking almost proud. "FALLING FOR UNDYNE'S TRICKS MERELY ENCOURAGES ME TO BE MORE VIGILANT, WHICH WILL IN TURN MAKE ME A BETTER GUARD!!"

"You can do that shit on your way to food," Undyne said, giving his bony rear a light boot. "Get gone, please."

Alphys watched from the window as Papyrus practically ran down the sidewalk toward the strip mall, looking as if he just won the lottery. Undyne watched him go with a fond grin, waving at him through the window when he turned in mid-run and waved to her.

"Er," Alphys peered up at her. "I know this is probably a ridiculous question, but... _that_..." She pointed at the door. "Is that normal?"

"Oh, sweetie," Undyne looked down at her and grinned. "Get used to that happening a _lot_." When she saw that Papyrus was still waving, now running backwards, she waved again, looking both happy and exasperated.

Alphys shyly played with the sash of her robe. "Do... do you think... he'll be my friend, too?"

Undyne stared at her in confusion. "Alphy, you've been his friend ever since I told him about you, the same day I met you! Remember? He's on your friends' list!"

Alphys smiled, but it changed to a self-deprecating one. "Most people just add me because of you. I figured he was the perfect example of that."

Undyne rubbed her forehead with a sigh. " _Shit_. I owe Asgore a bucket of snails."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," Undyne added hastily, holding up her phone and texting Papyrus their order to cover it up. Alphys eyed her suspiciously, then made a mental note to ask the former king the next time she saw him.

* * *

Undyne was in the shower, and Alphys had just finished getting dressed after hers, when doorbell rang, again.

Alphys hesitated; it wasn't Papyrus, because Undyne had deliberately sent him for food too early for that to be possible. (Grillby's wasn't open for another hour or so, and Papyrus would wait until his arms were full before he came back - and he would wait a long time.)

Thus the fact that the doorbell was ringing this soon not only confused Alphys, but annoyed Undyne, who shouted from within the shower: _"Who the hell is that and do they want to die?!"_

"Well," Alphys scratched her cheek a little. "We should probably be expecting this, right?"

Undyne poked her head out of the stall and glowered. "No!" she answered, one hand covering her left eyesocket, the other eye half-open and getting soap-suds too close to it. "Tell them to piss off!"

Alphys raised an eyebrow and raised her phone. "I doubt it'll work. We pretty much told everyone with our status-changes."

Undyne blushed, then vanished back into the bathroom. "When did _I_ become such a _dork?"_ she muttered, but Alphys laughed at that. Undyne had always been one; she was just a master at hiding it. (In fact, she was trying hard not to laugh when she said it, knowing full well she could rival Alphys at times with her own geekery.)

Apparently Alphys took too long, because she was halfway there when the doorbell rang again, accompanied by a flurry of knocks. And that's when Alphys grinned and ran to the door, especially when she heard, "Come on! We wanna see you!"

Alphys opened it at once, and Frisk practically flew into her arms, laughing so happily it was contagious. Alphys hugged Frisk close - absently noticing that the human was getting taller than her - then looked up and grinned at Toriel and Asgore, who stood waiting to be formally invited in - unlike their child. They were both already smiling at her, and she felt her face heat up a little.

Frisk let Alphys go and grinned, and Alphys definitely noted a difference in their height, now. It was inevitable, as Frisk was thirteen now, and with it came the expected growth, both physically and emotionally.

Though of course they grew more mature as they aged, Frisk never lost that childlike delight of puzzles and problem-solving, while also maintaining that serious, mature edge that made them a force to be reckoned with Aboveground.

Though definitely longer in limbs, Frisk looked almost the same as when they'd first met, with the same cap of hair and the tendency to squint when forced to look at anything far away (a vanity they refused to correct with glasses, though Toriel had much to say about that).

Frisk had been the adopted child of Toriel and Asgore for three years, now, and it showed on all three. Frisk had the tendency to add "golly" or "neato" when surprised, and also had a sharp eye for details. Either extremely polite or, like in this case, extremely relaxed, Frisk always made sure that the people around them were happy, first.

But Frisk wasn't the only one who had grown and changed - though in this case, it was not literal, as neither Asgore nor Toriel would ever age, even as Frisk did.

Toriel had gradually relaxed, though perhaps her relaxed state was still more tense than the average person. Ever since she became Headmistress, she had an air about her that spoke of past royalty but declared present joy. She commanded attention and respect - but also loved to tease her students with horrible puns and captioned pictures. ("Memes, Mami," Frisk tried to explain. "They're called memes." Toriel merely stared and said, "But they're never about _me!"_ That kind of thing always made Frisk instantly speechless.) With her close friendship with sans, her repertoire of bad jokes never got exhausted, but it was Asgore that seemed to benefit the most from this.

When Toriel offered him his current job, he had held hopes that someday - at most - they would become close friends again, never imagining that someday, Toriel would be able to forgive him, let alone want to remarry him. But she did, and had, and as a result, he was far more relaxed and comfortable in his own skin.

With Frisk, he could finally be the father he had wanted to be - though of course nothing could ever replace Chara or Asriel - and that had also changed him, made him more prone to joking with Toriel and Frisk, or anyone, as well as increased his desire to be more involved in things - especially schemes.

He and sans had also become friends, something that startled pretty much everyone else, though Asgore never understood why. He and sans formed a rapport over their love of excessive sauces on things that usually didn't need sauce, and as a result, gradually bonded over deeper things, like politics and monster-human relations.

(Well, one other thing bound the two together, but it was one that they did not discuss - despite sharing it with others close to them, and for quite some time, too.

Not _yet_ , anyway.)

Something else came of that, too, something that would become more and more apparent as the day went on: Frisk and sans had also become friends, rather close ones, too.

sans always had something good to say about Frisk, and Frisk in turn always had a joke ready about sans. However, when put together, it was like witnessing a new spoken language, because all they did was speak in their own coded in-jokes, laughing to tears almost every time - driving Toriel and Asgore crazy, as they both loved injokes and hated missing fun.

However, as sans was not there, Frisk spoke in plain language, which meant happy goat-parents.

"Congrats, Alphys!" they said now, beaming at her.

"Indeed!" Asgore added, as Alphys waved them in and shut the door. "And howdy! How are you, Alphys?" When she smiled rather happily, he laughed.

Toriel gave her a one-armed hug, a gesture that made Alphys blush and feel shy from, like one would when winning the approval of that stern aunt one always wanted to please - and finally did.

Why it was only one-armed became obvious, as she brought her other hand forward, holding a tray of paper take-out cups.

Alphys immediately lit up, her claws going up at once toward the tray, and Frisk burst into laughter. "Pay up, Papi!"

Asgore sighed, sagging in defeat, as Frisk held out their hand at him in expectation. As Alphys took her cup (pumpkin latte, her usual, another human treat she adored), she watched Asgore pull a small book from his pocket and hand it to his child rather sadly. Frisk grinned and pocketed it before he could change his mind.

"Uh," Alphys blinked, speaking between sips of her drink. "What's that?"

Toriel suddenly snorted, covering her mouth with one hand, but she didn't look too embarrassed about it.

Asgore looked at her and pouted before answering. "One of my diaries, from when I was younger."

"And still a billy-goat whelp," Toriel added with a choked giggle.

Asgore blushed a little, scratching at the back of his head in sudden shyness. "Come on, Tori..."

Alphys smiled, then waved them into the living room. All three walked ahead of her, turned to it, paused, and then turned back to her, wearing almost the exact same expression on all three faces: surprised embarrassment.

Bemused, Alphys looked over their shoulders - and yelped, handing Toriel her cup and racing into the room, mortified.

"Whoops," Undyne said suddenly, walking toward them while still tying back her hair. She grinned brightly. "Sorry about that," she added, though she certainly didn't look all that sorry.

Alphys rushed past her, her arms full of their wedding clothes - and everything else that had been discarded the previous night, leaving little to the imagination - feeling a little betrayed that Undyne was acting so blasé about something rather personal. But then again, Undyne was Undyne, and she loved the Dreemurrs - especially Asgore - like family, which meant she hid very little from them.

Alphys vanished into the bedroom, and Toriel coughed once, as Undyne took over and waved them into the now-tidy living room.

Once she'd hugged each of them and got them seated, Toriel said, "Well, it's nice to know you... _slept well."_

Both Frisk and Asgore laughed at this, and Undyne grinned as well, shrugging one shoulder shyly, as she couldn't deny it. By this time, her cheeks were pink. "Meh..." she replied, and this only brought more snickers from father and child.

Frisk then was about to start reading the hard-won journal when Undyne pointed at it. "Oh! Hey, you won! And that reminds me..." She sighed and looked at Asgore. "You were right."

He clapped once and laughed, delighted. "A loss and a win! I do love to break even!"

Undyne punched his shoulder in reply, which only brought another laugh from him. "Yeah, yeah, old man, you're get your bucket."

Alphys joined them and caught the tail-end of this, which finally reminded her. When she had her coffee again and was seated in her - well, her and Undyne's - favourite chair, she nodded to Asgore. "What was the bet?"

(She was still scarlet from the previous embarrassment, but only Frisk reminded her of it, shooting her a sly smirk, which forced her to choke a little on her drink.)

Undyne and Asgore glanced at each other, but offered nothing.

When they didn't answer, Frisk sighed. "I guess you didn't believe Undyne when she said you were popular online?"

Alphys nodded with a blush, glaring a little at Asgore, and Frisk noticed. "Yep. He cheated. He knew ahead of time."

Asgore stared at Frisk in shock. "You promised!"

"I _hate_ snails!" was the only explanation he got, Frisk burying themself back in the hard-won book with a grin.

Asgore sulked a little, and Undyne burst into laughter, giving the former king another punch on the other shoulder.

Alphys, however, was still confused, and in an embarrassed way. What were they even talking about? She wasn't popular _anywhere_ , save within their own little circle, and least of all online!

"Ah, _see!"_ Asgore pointed at Alphys, able to read her expressions almost as well as Undyne could. "She _still_ doesn't believe it! The bet is still valid!"

"No, you cheated, Gorey, dear," Toriel broke in finally, patting the top of his crownless head affectionately. "Tough break. Maybe next time."

Alphys stared at Undyne, now. "Help," she pleaded. "What are you talking about?!"

Undyne smiled, got up from where she was sitting (the arm of the couch that all three Dreemurrs had squished onto) and walked over to their chair, sitting down at her feet and resting her still-damp head against her legs.

"Just stupid stuff, love," she replied; it was true, in her opinion, after all. "Don't worry about it."

Alphys eyed her for a moment, and when she saw only sincerity, she nodded and resumed focus on her drink.

Silence fell rather abruptly, and Alphys noticed. She looked up and found all three Dreemurrs staring at her, then Undyne, then back to her. Undyne didn't move, but she did glower at the three of them, and Alphys blushed.

They all wore the same affectionate, dopey grin. Toriel's hand was at her cheek, her eyes shining. Asgore was already in tears, trying to sniffle them away but only making it worse. Frisk was so delighted, they even stopped reading, unable to tear their eyes away from the two.

"Shut the hell up," Undyne said calmly.

Toriel blushed. "Ah, sorry, it's just... we just..."

Asgore realised his actions were failing and did the most unkingly thing of burying his face into his wife's shoulder, at least until he could succeed even a little.

Alphys stared back at them, feeling her cheeks burn but her heart blossom, touched deeply by this.

Undyne, however, had closed her eye and was favouring only her green tea with her attention, now. (Green tea was now her second favourite tea, coming right after golden flower.)

With a rather abrupt cough, Asgore finally emerged from Toriel's now rather damp shoulder (she didn't even notice.). He looked to Undyne, then decided to focus on Alphys.

"We're proud," he admitted, his voice still a little teary. "Of both of you. You're both such a good match for one another--,"

"Duh," Undyne added.

Frisk giggled, especially when Asgore tried to clear his throat and only ended up making noise.

"It's pretty obvious for _you_ , Undyne," they said, then their gaze when to Alphys, where it softened. "But _you_ , Alphys... not so much, huh?"

She stared at Frisk. "Um..." She coughed, trying to hide behind her cup. "N-not beyond my wi-wildest dreams, n-no," she admitted.

Undyne looked up at her, looking proud of her, and she reached up with her free arm to hug Alphys's legs to her chest tight. The gesture proved immediately effective, as Alphys relaxed again the moment she was hugged. "Alphy, don't be a nerd!" she protested, though she looked like that was all she wanted Alphys to be.

Asgore coughed and held up a hand to them. "See?" To their surprise, he was saying it to Toriel. "Undyne would _never_ have said anything like _that_ before she met Alphys, let alone be so physically affectionate as well."

"Nope," Undyne agreed cheerfully. "Because Alphy's the only one who's _earned_ it."

"Hey, come on!" Alphys had to protest this. "Honesty is honesty, and I'm sure you've been affectionate like this before! Papyrus comes to mind!"

Undyne rolled her eye. "I would never _date_ Papyrus, not in _that_ way!"

("It's pretty fun, dating Papyrus, though I've only done it once, myself," Frisk added softly, so that only their parents heard, and they both turned to them rather sharply at this. Frisk merely shrugged, not bothering to explain.)

"But you still never hesitate to hug him, especially when you know he's earned it!" Alphys was protesting.

"Pfft," Undyne answered. _"Stop_. Logic is, as Papyrus would say, super-effective on my sarcasm." Which of course brought laughter to those around her, especially from Alphys.

Toriel looked so happy she was actually grinning. "Nor would Undyne ever admit to being wrong so easily," she added, and Asgore nodded sagely. "And _you,_ Doctor," she said to Alphys, now. "You've certainly become more open with talking in person. The Alphys I met when the barrier broke would never be that confident."

"And... well... It's quite a relief to see Undyne calmed down, even if it's just a little," Asgore added, avoiding Undyne's gaze.

"True," Toriel agreed. "The warrior I knew would never put up with merely sitting in one place, nor remaining so while sipping tea, after just being told she's calmed down."

"Mm, well..." Undyne's eye sparked, meeting Toriel's, and quite suddenly, a small blue spear materialised, hovering right above Toriel's head. She looked up, saw it, and laughed. "My dear, even that's smaller than usual. I didn't even know you could shrink those."

"Neither did I!" Frisk broke in, eyeing it. "That's really neato!"

"Maybe I'll teach you one day."

Both Asgore and Toriel looked horrified at the very suggestion, about to protest, when suddenly Frisk's smile vanished, something clicking in those wise eyes.

"Thanks, but... there's still something I don't get," they added carefully, looking down at their own cup, unable to hide the twitch in that smile. "Why elope? You had everything planned, and seemed really excited about it. Is... is everything okay? Are...? You're okay, right? You're..." The smile vanished, into something pained. "No one is... sick... right?"

Everyone was staring at Frisk, now, who didn't seem to notice. Over the years, Frisk had remained rather close-mouthed about their past, especially when asked what they were doing at Mount Ebott the day they fell down. Though gradually admitting to be an orphan with nothing to lose, Frisk offered little else to explain. Clearly, Frisk was a runaway orphan, and it seemed more and more likely that it wasn't a fall - but a jump.

(Only one other person knew the entire story, and that was sans. Frisk ended up crying the whole story to him one afternoon, when they were talking about family. That not only earned Frisk's trust with their past, but trust for life, one that sans would definitely make sure he was worthy of during Frisk's lifetime - with perhaps a few hiccups on the way.)

Hearing this question, however, shed a bit more light on the story, especially judging from the expression on Frisk's face. Wordlessly, Toriel and Asgore seemed to close in on both sides and hug Frisk gently, something they looked very grateful for.

Alphys swallowed, very hard, before she answered. "N-no, Frisk," she said gently. "We're not sick!" She smiled, and Frisk looked up at her. "It just kinda happened, and we're still going to have a huge party on the day we planned to have the wedding. Just no ceremony."

"Right," Undyne said fiercely, her eye bright with smothered tears. She hated to see Frisk hurt. "A huge fu-uh- _freaking_ party to celebrate us!" And she smiled, all teeth, holding her green tea to Frisk in a kind of toast, which brought a smile forth - all Undyne really wanted.

"You can invite anyone you want," Alphys added gently. "Humans or monsters, okay? Both are welcome, because..."

Frisk smiled wider, looking happier. "Because _I'm_ both, right?"

Asgore ruffled Frisk's hair with a smile, and Toriel gently kissed their cheek. "Yes," Toriel agreed. Frisk looked delighted by this thought, cheered by it almost at once.

"See? All awesome, no sick," Undyne concluded cheerfully.

"And we're still going to wear our wedding clothes, so feel free to dress up - or down - however you like!" Alphys added.

Frisk nodded, looking rather excited by that. However, they hesitated, just a little. "So, everything's okay, right?"

"Of course it is, brat!" Undyne answered right away. "As for why... Well, Alphy's right. It just kinda happened, mostly because... Well..." She blushed and her smile went a little crooked. "I was getting impatient."

Asgore's gaze suddenly slid to Alphys, so subtly she didn't notice at first.

Alphys was shaking her head. "I was, too," she admitted.

 _Then_ she realised she was being looked at. She blinked in surprise, but swallowed it, noticing that Asgore was trying to call her attention.

"Well," he said now, "I'm glad to hear it." And he smiled to prove it, though it was a little strained. "It took me forever to find a place to cater for us."

Frisk suddenly scowled hearing this, looking the most furious that anyone had ever seen them look. No one had to say why; it was obvious.

Toriel eyed Asgore closely for a moment (she knew her husband too well and noticed his signalling to Alphys). She added, "I'm glad the party is still on, as my ceiling will always have flour on it long after we're all dust. I had to pre-prep so much food!"

Frisk sighed. "Mami, please don't say 'pre-prep'. Just say, 'baked for weeks and weeks in order to find the perfect recipe'."

"That certainly ruins the mystery, doesn't it?" Toriel answered, her tone a little sharp; clearly Frisk was right. "After all, doesn't everyone love a _sur-pies?"_

Only Asgore and Alphys laughed; Frisk groaned and Undyne snorted into her tea. They exchanged another look with their laugh, and Alphys again looked away, confused.

Asgore, however, cleared his throat. "Alphys, I hear you have quite the backyard," he said. She stared at him. "I'd love to see it."

"Er," she replied, getting to her feet. "Yeah. S-sure." She waved him after her, and he followed, stopping only to kiss both his wife and child before doing so.

 When the back door closed behind them, Undyne glowered. "One of you better tell me what _that_ is about, or else."

Toriel pretended she didn't hear, and Frisk pretended to be engrossed in Asgore's journal.

Undyne kept glaring.

Without saying a word, she got to her feet and followed after them, staying as silent as a mote of dust in a sunbeam.

And she listened, and heard it all.

* * *

Once the door was closed, Alphys turned to Asgore and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked up at him, feeling both nervous and irritated, confused and hungry, and with absolutely no inkling as to why she was being dragged out of her own home to her modest backyard.

Asgore looked, to his credit, embarrassed. Clearly, he knew he hadn't been very subtle. "Sorry about that," he admitted.

"It's fine," Alphys answered automatically, even though it wasn't. "What's up?"

"Well..." Asgore sighed, looking away. "This _is_ a nice yard. Small, but nice. I could find a small barbecue for you to use."

"Thank you," Alphys said, her tone a little cold, now. "What's going on?"

He coughed, and she sighed. At that, he smiled. "You _have_ changed, and it's not a bad thing."

Alphys looked away. "But?"

She was starting to get why she was out here, especially if she placed it against the time he was trying to get her attention: when Frisk was afraid that she and Undyne were sick.

"Well, I just want to know... How are you doing, Alphys? I mean, _personally?"_

"Asgore." She said it softly, putting a hand to her forehead.

 _Now_ she got it.

Asgore winced, looking uncomfortable. "Do you remember the day I hired you?" he asked, the topic changing so quickly she was surprised into answering honestly.

"Y-yes," she said. "I-I was..."

She looked down, shifting from foot to foot.

She didn't finish. They both knew.

"Right," he agreed. He still looked away.

For a moment, Alphys was lost in her memory, and she shook her head, her eyes dark. Absently, one hand went to her chest.

"I..." She turned away. "I've changed, like you said."

Asgore's face was drawn, now. He was remembering, too. He clearly wanted to believe her.

But maybe the past spoke louder than anything present could.

* * *

Nobody wanted a teacher. Nobody wanted a scientist. Nobody wanted someone to run a counter, even. Online there was nothing, not even scams, to apply to.

Alphys had spent _years_ getting this knowledge, and she was either overqualified, or not qualified enough.

She spent ten hours every day for a month looking, running out of her emergency money she had saved while working part-time during school, only to lose that job due to "lay-offs" the moment she graduated.

She was going into debt. She was running out of food, of money, and of patience.

When she read her latest slew of rejection letters, she buried her face into her hands and allowed herself a selfish repose of tears, hoping that once it passed she could get back to it.

Alphys had always had a strange mind. She loved people, but was also scared of them. She loved writing, but hated being told what to write, or even criticised; though of course it was kind criticism, she still took it too personally. She had many people online who read some of her work and encouraged her, and she loved them dearly, but she never met them, and often she felt like a fraud.

When she had that job while still in school, she didn't appreciate it, instead always waiting for it to end so that she could be a _real_ scientist, a _real_ doctor. 

The day she cried over her keyboard ended up being the last day she decided to look.

When she had calmed down and shut down her computer, she was eerily calm, a kind of calm that she knew she hadn't experienced before (but unfortunately would again at least twice more in her life).

She shrugged on her coat, pocketed her phone, and walked out of her tiny, New Home apartment, barely noticing anyone or anything around her.

Without really knowing why, she walked down the road, hailed a cab, and requested to be dropped off at Waterfall.

* * *

 Once there, she hesitated.

For a moment, she forgot why she was there, and she paused, feeling a little scared by it.

However, once she thought about it, and once the truth crashed back into her, she was already walking again, only now she knew where she was headed.

The abyss was a special place for her, as it was responsible for her now being a doctor. She had created her thesis on the entire structure and importance the abyss had on the Underground.

Once she became a doctor, thanks to that thesis, she regarded the abyss as a kind of old friend, knowing almost everything about it, having visited it so often it was clearly in her muscle memory.

It was only when she realised she was about to jump that she came back to herself.

Her whole body flashed white-hot, that desperate feeling one gets when on the precipice of life and death, and they have that last opportunity to pick one. She started to tremble, the truth again crashing into her so hard, she physically flinched, her eyes shutting all on their own.

_No job. No money. No friends._

_No worth._

_No point._

She opened her eyes at that, her tears suddenly freezing.

All of a sudden, she felt calm again. She knew why: because there really was nothing holding her here.

And if there was, she didn't know it, so why wait for something or someone to find her, especially when she knew they never would?

She would rather be dust, be the mud at the floor of the abyss, to help other things grow with her uselessness.

She swallowed, hard, but gritted her teeth, feeling adrenaline flood through her, making her feel strong enough to do this.

With a silent apology to whoever had to clean her apartment, she walked to the edge--

\--and jumped--

\--only to suddenly be jolted to a stop in mid-air, the move so strong and so sudden she choked.

Suddenly, that eerie, soothing calm vanished, and she panicked, realising what she was doing and, with cold honesty, that she _didn't_ want to die, she wanted to _live_ , even if it meant being useless, at least it was _living_...

_Wasn't it?_

She screamed then, and a deep voice said, "I've got you, hold on!" She nodded, suddenly noticing that what had grabbed her was an arm, the arm that was now choking her belonged to someone, and that someone was holding her still in mid-jump.

Below her, the unceasing waters of the abyss flooded forth, and her whole body flooded with terror, with _shame_ , at what she had almost done - a point made even more apparent when her glasses slid off and into those waters, instantly swallowed by them.

She reached up and grabbed onto that giant arm, shutting her eyes tightly and shouting out again, her voice cracking.

She heard herself pleading, _"Help me, please, don't let me do this!"_

And she heard that deep voice reassure her that he wouldn't.

Then, she was pulled away from her death, and brought back to kneel on the water tiles, gasping for life instead. She coughed, still breathless, adrenaline flooding her again so hard she shook from head to foot.

_"Can you...? ...alright?"_

At first, those words were meaningless, and she shook her head, trying to collect herself.

After what seemed like forever, she suddenly could hear that voice again, saying words that now made sense.

"Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

She shook her head, her hands at her chest, her claws digging in. Her clothes were soaked, her phone ruined, her good pair of glasses gone, but she didn't care. She focused on the pain she made with her claws, allowing it to draw her away from that horrible place, and bringing her slowly back to reality.

"Say _something_ , please, _anything_ , please. Do you need a doctor?"

Her laugh was hysterical at this point, and she cowered, her laughs turning into sobs quite easily.

"It's okay. You're safe. Everything will be alright. Whatever it was, it wasn't the right choice. Okay?"

Alphys listened to the words, taking them in a syllable at a time, allowing their false hopes to permeate into her blood and lie to her.

When she could finally breathe without making any sob-sounds, she opened her blurry eyes and raised her head -- only to fall backwards in her shock. She stammered, nonsense sounds that she tried to form into eloquent apologies, but nothing made sense.

King Asgore was kneeling in front of her, also soaked, his crown crooked on his head. It was his hand that had grabbed her, his arm she had clung onto in her regret, to him that she begged to save her from herself.

 _The King of Monsters_ had just rescued _her_ from...?

"Easy..." he was saying, placing one of his hands on her shoulder gently, the touch actually very kind. "It's okay. You're safe."

"No! No, no, _no!"_ she suddenly shouted, horror crashing into her. She stared at him desperately, backing away on her hands and knees. "No, I _can't_... Not after... _you_ just..."

His touch suddenly became firm, and she stopped, unable to go on - his hold was that strong. Alphys wasn't a small monster, and wasn't used to being handled as if she weighed no more than a Moldsmal, but here was the King doing just that.

"Yes, you _can,_ and you _will,"_ he was saying, his eyes now staring into hers. There was naked pain there, a pain she didn't understand then, but would come to learn was the pain of seeing someone he loved die of what he later realised was suicide - Chara, his adopted human child - and seeing that same pain in others.

"I..." she whispered. "I _can't_..."

He waited, but she couldn't finish, so he asked her, a small, gentle smile appearing on his face, "Is there someone you can call?"

Alphys stared at him, wondering whether or not to laugh or cry. She ended up doing both. "No..." she admitted. "I... have _nothing_. I... have _no one..."_

"Are you sure? No family, no friends? Coworkers?"

Alphys bit her lip. She shut her eyes tight and put her hands back to her chest. She didn't know it, but she was slowly rocking on her knees, trembling, hunched over before the King like a soaked rag doll.

Asgore was watching her closely, not noticing that he, too, was shaking.

He had just finished picking up his giant bucket of snails from the Blook farm when he suddenly saw her standing there. Confused, he stopped, noticing that she was swaying on her feet and acting a little off.

But the look on her face... He recognised it.

And he would be damned if he ignored it this time.

He dropped the bucket and ran toward her, skidding to his knees, barely making it in time to grab her by the back of her coat. He almost lost his balance and fell in after her, but he dug his feet in and summoned his trident to dig into the mud for added purchase.

When she suddenly screamed and panicked, he knew he had done the right thing - even if _she_ didn't, yet.

"We _all_ have someone," he said now. "Even old sinners like me." He smiled a little, but she didn't see it. She only heard his words and winced. "Who can I contact for you?"

Alphys again shook her head, and the truth dawned on him: she was serious about what she was saying - or rather, _not_ saying.

She confirmed it a moment later, whispering, "All I have is the abyss, now."

Asgore stared at her, feeling a deep sadness shake his old bones and stir long-dead compassion and hope in his blood. "And why do you say that?"

She smiled sadly, her claws digging into her skin deeper, and to his shock, he saw blood, and saw that she either didn't feel it, or didn't care.

"Because it's _true,_ " she replied softly, wincing when she felt the pain in her chest. "I b-belong with the a-abyss. W-why _else_ has it c-come to _t-this?"_

Asgore suddenly decided that at least one thing was going to come of this: he wasn't leaving Waterfall without her. "Stop. Tell me something. What's your name?"

"Trash," she answered, her voice choked in tears, the smile now gone, replaced with pure sorrow. "I'm _trash_. I don't need a name."

"Everyone needs a name," he answered gently. He squeezed the shoulder he still held, knowing if he let go, she would be lost forever. "What is yours? Please tell me, as you already know mine."

She was silent for a long time, before she said, "Alphys. I-I'm... A-Alphys..."

He stared at her, but she didn't notice. He knew that name, because he had just been sent a file the previous week with the very same name upon it - as well as a long list of qualifications, including...

...a detailed thesis on the abyss, earning her a doctorate.

 _"Oh..."_ he murmured. "No _wonder_ , when I asked if you needed..." He rubbed his face with his other hand, embarrassed now. "Golly. I'm _terrible."_

She opened her eyes slowly, the words making their way into her brain and making sense again. The way he was talking, it sounded like he really had already heard of her. But of course that was impossible, because no one cared or heard about Alphys...

"Dr Alphys," he was saying, now. "Yes. I know you. Or, I was about to." He scratched at the back of his head with his free hand, looking bashful, now. "I have this problem with procrastination. I should have called you _days_ ago."

"Wait, what are...?" She held up one hand, the clawtips bright red, but she didn't care. She looked up at him, searching his face with teary vision, feeling confusion cloud her mind. "Your Majesty, er... what are you saying? I don't get it."

"Forgive me," he answered, looking right into her eyes when he said it. "If I had just called you--,"

"I don't un-understand--,"

"This probably wouldn't have happened, and you'd--,"

"G-go b-back, what are you t-talking about?"

They were talking over each other now, the first of many, many times this would happen, when they both struggled to think on their feet and were forced to say those thoughts aloud to help keep pace with everyone else around them. And it was this moment that set the guidelines for all future conversations like this one.

Alphys held up both hands, now, waving them in front of his face, finally silencing him. She said, her voice sharp, "Please, stop and listen!" And he did, and would any other time she'd ask. "Please, Your Majesty, I don't understand. What are you talking about? H-how do _you_ know _me_?" She stared at him. "N-no one does..."

Asgore shook his head. "You'll find that not to be the case. I hired someone to look for promising graduates in science and biology, for a project I need help with. When they came back, your file topped them all."

He smiled at her, the smile that she would grow to adore. "I didn't look at anyone else's when I saw how hard you worked. But, I hesitated. The job, it won't be easy, and it won't make you many friends..."

He blinked, then smiled again. "Well, except _me_ ," he added.

Alphys stared at him, her hands still held up between them, though now they shook. "I-- _what_?!" she blurted out. "Your Majesty, are you... offering me a _job_... after _saving my life?!"_

Asgore winced a little. "You could say I'm merely making it even, as my careless hesitation led you to this."

Alphys shook her head fiercely. "That doesn't even make sense, it's a logical fallacy, that's not how it works--,"

 _"That_ was never really my forte, hence why I need a Royal Scientist--,"

"You can never know how to map out every person you meet, from start to finish, their place in your life--,"

 _"I_ sure can't figure out how to make it work, and my _last_ scientist, well--,"

She held up her hands higher, and he went quiet. Her eyes were huge, now, making her look oddly vulnerable, even more so than when she was hanging over the edge. "You're _giving_ me a _job?"_

"Yes, as the Royal Scientist. Like I said, you're at the top of a small list, and--,"

Alphys covered her mouth, going pale in seconds, looking away and managing only to lean over to one side before she threw up.

Asgore blinked in surprise, keeping his hand where it was in order to keep her balanced as well as safe. If he thought about it, it was an understandable reaction, really.

Alphys had come to Waterfall to die, and was now not only rescued, but given exactly what she needed to survive, to keep living. It was almost _too_ much.

"We need to get you somewhere safe," Asgore was saying, as she choked a bit on the sour bile and shook from the violence of it all.

By now, she was starting to lose the strength the adrenaline had given her, leaving her wishing she was buried under blankets with take-out.

She felt _terrible_ , soaked to the marrow and bereft of any energy.

 _She_ didn't want to die, but her body felt like _it_ still did.

"Dr Alphys, did you hear me?" Asgore gently shook her shoulder, but she curled inward, hunching down, her eyes shut and her jaws clenched shut. She shook so hard he could hear her teeth rattle together.

"Oh dear," he said. "You need to come with me, alright? You'll be safe. Can you stand?"

When she didn't reply, he shook her again. "Doctor, you need to say or do something to indicate you understand me, or else I'll need to get help."

She didn't want that. Her eyes snapped open in fear, suddenly afraid of what would happen if he did call someone. She raised her head, feeling dizzy, now. She stared at him, trying to form words, but nothing came out.

"Give me your hands," he was saying, his tone sharp.

Wordlessly, she obeyed, and he grabbed them in his, his hands easily covering hers.

Gently, he pulled her to her feet, and she sank back down without control, causing Asgore to almost fall with her. She was _very_ pale, now, her eyes shut and her breaths quick.

He knew what that meant, too. "Ah, forgive me, this likely will never happen again, but I am sorry for it."

And Asgore, the king of the entire Underground, scooped Alphys up into his arms like she was made of nothing.

She, herself, felt like she were heavier than any metal, denser than any alloy. _Everything_ felt weird, now, oddly distant and fuzzy, and she felt so numb. Everything was spinning, and she shut her eyes, trying to focus, to say she was fine...

The moment her eyes closed, she passed out.

If he were to be honest, Asgore was relieved. He didn't think she could handle much more, anyway.

Forgetting his snails, he trudged through the waters, and back toward New Home, carrying his future Royal Scientist as gently as if she were made of glass.

* * *

 She stayed in the castle's infirmary for two days, sick with fever, from both the emotional breakdown and the physical exhaustion. She didn't remember any of it, just barely remembering how she even got there.

When she finally managed to drag herself back up from that hell of a fever, she opened her eyes to a vase full of golden flowers beside the cot she was lying in. She stared at them confused, for a moment not remembering anything, fully expecting not flowers, but her phone's alarm screen, chiming a her to get up and look for a job...

And that's when she remembered everything.

With a gasp, she sat up in bed, frantically scrabbling for something to grab to push herself to her feet. She _had_ to find the king, _had_ to explain herself, _had_ to apologise...

Only to have the king stop her and gently push her back onto the cot, saying, "It's okay, Doctor. You're safe."

She stared up at him with doubled vision, from her lack of glasses and the remaining traces of fever. She tried to speak, only to instead start choking, and he gave her a glass of water at once. She drank it eagerly, only able to finish half of it. When she could, she tried to apologise, but he interrupted her.

"Howdy, Dr Alphys," he said gently, smiling. Her heart suddenly felt too heavy, and she gulped, nodding at him. "How are you?"

She snorted, unable to keep it in, surprising Asgore into raising his eyebrows and smiling. "Yes, I suppose that's a good answer."

She blushed, looking away, before managing to say, "I'm s-so s- _sorry_ , Your Majesty."

Asgore's face fell instantly. _"Oh."_

She bit her lip hard, nodding. She couldn't stand to look at him, now, after all that had happened. She knew better than to expect a job after something like this, had been a fool to even take it seriously. Obviously he didn't really know her, and had just said those things to talk her off the ledge....

"So you won't work with me?"

Alphys turned back so quickly her neck cracked. "Wh- _what?!"_ she exclaimed. "You were _serious?!_ You're _still_ serious?!"

He nodded, bemused. "Why would I lie about something like that, during something like _that?"_ He smiled. "Especially if it gives you hope. You can't be without that, Doctor. Everyone needs it. Yes," he said, stopping her before she could answer. "Even you do."

She smiled sardonically, but he insisted so much she finally believed him - or at least believed he felt that way, anyway.

"Hope, huh?" she echoed, gazing at the golden flowers absently.

When he nodded, she met his gaze, and he looked at her so frankly, she wished she could cry. But she didn't.

Instead, she said, "I would, more than anything, love to be your scientist, Your Majesty."

"Then just call me Asgore," was his easy reply.

* * *

Alphys kept her arms crossed, though she was shaking a little. Remembering that time was always terrible, despite the outcome.

Asgore sighed deeply, closing his eyes, as if trying to find the right words to say.

Finally, she just said it. "You think I'm sick, right? That's why you're saying this."

His eyes opened and he turned to her, shaking his head at once. "It's not _that!"_ he protested, seeing the hurt in her eyes and wishing he could erase it. "It's just, I don't want _anyone_ to get hurt, _especially_ you and Undyne."

"I know," she agreed softly. "I feel the same way."

"I'm bringing this up because... Undyne told me how _she_ met you."

Alphys went cold, her eyes shutting tight in humiliation. She had nothing to say, no means of protest. There was no way she could defend it. Though not nearly as close a call, it was a fact that Undyne had rescued her, too, from the abyss. It must look very bad to him, though she knew, deep down, she hadn't chosen that place to be so full of painful memories.

Asgore suddenly chuckled, startling her.

She turned to him, and he was gazing at her, a hand rubbing his beard a little as he laughed.

"Do you know, the day she met you, and for days after, she was different?" When she said nothing - words failed her - he went on. "I could tell she was distracted by _something_ , because her drills were terrible and her attention was poor. She let me floor her way too many times to be normal, and she wouldn't look me in the eye. When I finally asked her what was wrong, she finally looked right at me and smiled, saying nothing was, just that she had an interesting thing happen to her that week. She didn't say much after that, until I asked yet again. And that was when she stopped mid-exercise and asked me about _you_."

Undyne, from her place at the back door, smiled warmly. She remembered that day.

She had spent the whole week confused about that day at the abyss, and the evening with Alphys in Snowdin after.

Whenever she thought about seeing Alphys again, Undyne felt happier, lighter, _thrilled_ by it, a feeling she knew she hadn't had for anyone else - not even Papyrus; he did come in at a close second, though nowhere near the same way as Alphys.

When Alphys laughed softly, Undyne's smile widened, her eye closing and her hand to her chest. That laugh was so soft, but so full emotion, such obvious, raw emotion, that Undyne felt breathless from it. In a good way.

"I felt th-that way, t-too," Alphys admitted shyly.

"Hold on, let me finish," Asgore said quickly. "It was like something had always been locked within her, something she kept hidden for reasons known only to her - only to discover without knowing it that you held the key, and unlocked it without her even noticing. She became almost... gentler, though of course she was still a terror. She had a softer edge that made people really love her, no matter how hard she punched them. If she did, they just assumed they deserved it, and took it."

Undyne covered her mouth, smothering a laugh. Was she really _that_ transparent?

"I know Undyne quite well, Alphys, just like I know you." Asgore smiled brighter. "I've had the pleasure of watching the both of you grow up, deal with some of the harshest things life can throw at anyone, and come out of it stronger - and closer - together. While Undyne learned to love _more,_ you learned to love, _period."_

Alphys looked at him, the blood leaving her face. "Asgore--," she tried, but he shook his head.

"Don't try to lie to me, Alphys," he said sadly. "I know you too well. You loathed yourself when I met you. You wanted to love everyone, help everyone, keep people around you with rewards and gifts - as if you needed to buy the respect and love they already had for you - and that you already deserved. That we _all_ deserve."

Suddenly, he turned away, keeping his face away from her, which surprised her. "Even old, _murderous_ _bastards_ like _me_ ," he concluded.

From both sides of the door, Alphys and Undyne stood shocked.

Asgore very rarely swore (usually only saying, "damn!" or "what the hello?!"), so to hear him do so rather casually was one thing. But to also hear him speak of the past with such honesty - painful honesty - was also shocking.

This was the part of their King that they had never known before, but now would never be able to forget: even King Asgore sometimes hated himself.

Alphys opened her mouth to protest, walking to his side and placing a hand gently on his forearm, but he shook his head. "I've killed _children_ , Doctor. Without mercy, even the ones who refused to fight back. I stole their lives, their futures, their _souls_ , and yet here I stand, with a child so amazing that they've surpassed _my_ wildest dreams - and a _human_ , no less! But most of all..."

His voice caught a bit, and he cleared his throat. "This is where you and I are alike, Alphys. Most of all, I have Tori. My wife. My true mate and my other half. Do you think I ever thought I deserved her after what I did? Of course not. But she is now my wife, again."

The door opened behind them, and Undyne walked out to them, her eye full and her cheeks wet, unable to stay away, anymore. "Like _I'm_ _yours_ , Alphy," she broke in, smiling.

Alphys jumped and turned to her, already about to cry from what Asgore was saying, but also dismayed that Undyne had heard her doubts and fears.

Undyne, however, walked to her side and took her free hand between her own, looking right into Alphys's eyes.

"Think about it," she murmured. "I planned to kill children, too. I planned to attack them, murder them, steal their souls, and do it all without mercy, while _laughing_."

Her tears fell freely now, and Alphys uttered a sob, feeling actual pain at the sight of Undyne's.

Undyne smiled at her sadly. "But... you knew all of that, and you still married me. You still love me."

Alphys nodded, her hands already reaching for her. Undyne grabbed her, and they clung together, both in tears, now.

Asgore very gently placed one hand on each of their shoulders gently, giving them a soft squeeze, before he turned and left them alone.

Undyne was kissing the tears from Alphys's cheeks, and Alphys was trying to calm down enough to form words. _Now_ she understood why Asgore was scared: because _Undyne_ was scared, too, and he loved them both like he would if they were his daughters.

Which, in a way, they were - especially now.

"Undyne, I-I'm _so sorry,"_ she managed to finally get out, once she had been pulled closer by her wife and had her head resting on her strong shoulder, her arms wrapped around Undyne's waist tight. _"I'm so sorry."_

Undyne shook her head, her smile wavering a bit. "No, Alphy, that's what Asgore's point _really_ was - that you don't _need_ to be sorry, because we both know it's not your fault. We just love you, and want to see you happy."

"That's all I want for _you_."

Undyne pressed her cheek against the top of Alphys's head, gently reaching to the back of her neck and massaging the tight muscles, there. Alphys instantly relaxed, like she knew she would.

"Good," Undyne said gently, smiling and closing her eye.

 _Until_...

"Then _please_...?" Her voice broke, and Alphys held her closer. When Undyne spoke again, her voice was a strangled whisper, her smile long gone. "Please, don't _ever_ jump. Don't _ever_ leave. Come to me, or Asgore, _anyone,_ and let us help you. I promise: you will _never_ burden us."

Alphys squeezed her eyes shut, unable to keep herself from sobbing. When Undyne heard her, she couldn't keep her own tears from bursting out, the memories of that day flooding back, full of happiness, yes - but also of deep fear.

They remained that way for what seemed like ages, but in reality was only about a half-hour. They both cried out their sorrow, the pain of their pasts and the wish that they could go back to change it - but knowing if they did, everything would be different.

So they shouldered their pain together, and found it easier to carry when shared.

* * *

Asgore quietly made his way back into the bungalow, meeting his wife and child in the living room. They had both stood up when they heard the door open, and, upon seeing his face, Frisk ran over and hugged him tightly.

Toriel met his gaze, reached up, and touched his cheek with the palm of her hand, smiling sadly at him.

Frisk, the human child he would have murdered in cold blood, or allowed them to murder him, now _his_ child, almost closer than blood...

Toriel, who lost two children - and him - in one day and one night, who had stood up to him in defence of Frisk, ready to lay down her life to stop him...

"Papi?" Frisk murmured gently. "Everything okay?"

He nodded, resting his head atop Frisk's head, the other going to Toriel's cheek, like she did for him. Her eyes softened, and she gave him one of her rare, special smiles, one filled with such love that it brought tears to his eyes every time he saw it.

Toriel then leaned in close and hugged them both, and Asgore relaxed, closing his eyes and letting the tears spill free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie... this one was a hard one to write...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter was where I ended it at first - until people started liking this silly thing and I let it get to my head, and I suddenly realised I forgot the most important chapter after all. So... WHOOPS. This is NOT the last chapter. There will be five parts, not four. However, if you find yourself just fine with how this chapter ends, then sweet! If no, come back! :D

By the time Papyrus had finally gotten their food, everyone had calmed down, though of course there was some left over evidence of it: Alphys's swollen eyes behind her glasses, Undyne looking far more tired than before, and of course Asgore looked rather deflated as well.

It had taken Undyne and Alphys far longer to calm down than it had Asgore, and when they did return, Undyne wouldn't stop keeping at least one hand on Alphys, as if doing so would keep her anchored. The thing was that it worked; Alphys _did_ feel anchored, and as a result, so did Undyne.

Papyrus was many things, but a fool he was not. When he walked in with the tower of take-out boxes, he noticed the air had changed slightly, and saw the evidence of it in his friends.

However, he also had the instincts of a warrior, if not the heart of a bloodthirsty one, and he could tell that whatever storm had been there had passed, and that whatever danger there had been was now dealt with it.

So, deciding to trust Undyne later to tell him (which she of course did), he pretended he didn't see anything different.  
  
"AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE ONCE AGAIN SUCCEEDED IN MY GIVEN CHALLENGE, EVEN WHEN THAT CHALLENGE IS SUDDENLY _CHANGED_ MIDWAY AND WAS _ADDED_ TO..." Here he gave Undyne a look that clearly said 'despite your attempts, I still did it,' which made her grin. "...AND NOW WE CAN _FINALLY_ EAT!"  
  
He was passing out the boxes to everyone (and got it right each time, another thing that always reminded Undyne of why she could always count on him) while saying this, looking absolutely thrilled with himself.

However, once everyone had their own cartons, there was one extra.  
  
"Uh," Alphys broke in, "did you pick up someone else's?"  
  
"OF COURSE I DID!" he replied cheerfully. "MY BROTHER'S!"  
  
"sup." And true to form, sans was strolling into the room from the back hallway, waving.

Everyone stared at him in varying degrees of confusion and surprise, Frisk and Asgore sharing the same "golly," upon seeing him suddenly there. (Which, in turn, had both sans and Toriel jinxing them - though separately, which meant it was still valid.)  
  
When sans was seated and opening his carton, Undyne couldn't help staring at both him, and his 'order'.

"Please tell me you didn't order a carton of _ketchup_ for breakfast," she half-begged, half-sighed, one hand already over her eyes.  
  
"of course i didn't, that's just ridiculous. there's mustard in here, too."  
  
"Now, now," Toriel broke in, barely able to hide her grin. "No need to get... 'saucy'."  
  
sans beamed at her. "exactly. or else tori will have to 'garnish' your wages."  
  
Toriel started clapping at once, and he did a little mock-bow from his seat to her. At this point, even Frisk and Asgore were laughing, though both were trying to be as silent as possible (both knew that the consequence of breaking a jinx with Toriel involved burnt food and undercooked pies, which made no one happy).  
  
A small, bright blue spear landed in the box as Undyne's only reply to all of this, which resulted in sans being the saucy one, not Undyne.  
  
Alphys was watching this exchange with a smile, loving the way Undyne's smile curved whenever she summoned a spear for anything, especially if it meant a well-deserved penalty. She was about to add something when, quite suddenly, Papyrus was sitting himself at her side, slapping down a sheet of paper before him and holding out a pencil to her.

She looked up at him, and saw he looked rather expectantly at her. "Uhm," she managed, blinking at him, then at the paper in front of them.  
  
"DR ALPHYS, MY BROTHER REFUSES TO HELP ME WITH THIS. I CAN THEREFORE ONLY TRUST _YOU_ WITH IT."  
  
It was a Junior Jumble.  
  
"Oh!" Alphys replied, smiling slowly at this. Unable to resist it, she reached up and gave his bony forearm a gentle squeeze. Clearly, Undyne had been right about him - especially when it came to making a friendship with her.

It meant a lot - more than she could ever put into words. She even had to blink back tears a little before she could do anything. 

She took the pencil and said, "But before we go on, you n-need to remember, you don't need to always call me 'doctor'. J-just Alphys is fine..."

She looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up, and she busied herself at once with the project. "Th-this is actually really easy if you just use this one trick..."

Papyrus watched her moves so sharply, it was both flattering and a little nerve-wracking, but she was happy, still.  
  
From the other end of the table, Undyne was watching them without either of them noticing. She was eating her food automatically, finding herself feeling far more sated watching the two of them bonding over the daily puzzles. She propped her cheek on one hand, unaware that she wore the silliest smile on her face. At one point feeling so happy, she stopped eating and just sat, watching them.  
  
Asgore, seeing her not eat, and noticing how distracted she was, instantly wondered if she had simply forgotten her food was there, and thus had to be reminded. This would probably seem weird to anyone else, but Asgore both had seen this happen with her before, and had also had it happen to him, too.

However, he was still jinxed into silence along with Frisk, so he tried to signal to her to get her attention, finding that she had absolutely no eyes for anyone else, even when he became a little frantic in his attempts. As a result, he accidentally smacked one hand into sans's shoulder. It wasn't a hard hit, more like a light tap, but it was enough to surprise him into dropping his spoon rather abruptly into his dish, instantly lost to its condiment contents. Wordlessly, sans stared at Asgore, who was now trying to apologise with those same gestures to _him_ , almost hitting him again and again.  
  
At this, Frisk was laughing so hard that a snort graced every fifth laugh, something they had picked up from Alphys. (Though not often, Alphys sometimes tutored Frisk in monster history and magical theory and science. In turn, Frisk taught _her_ about humanity, correcting any and all of the misconceptions she had believed over the years. As a result, most of these lessons ended in the two of them watching anime and eating frozen yogurt.)  
  
Toriel heard this and sighed, massaging her temples slowly. She had lectured Frisk three times on why snorting while laughing - especially at the dinner table - was not very polite, even if it was involuntary. She decided that Frisk was either doing it on purpose to make a point, or was merely trying to withhold the jinx.

"Alright," she said. "Jinx is gone. Do stop that, Frisk."  
  
_"I am so sorry, sans!"_ Asgore said immediately.  
  
Frisk started laughing again so hard at this that, while they didn't snort, they did start to choke on their food. It was this that finally broke Undyne out of her lovely reverie, immediately beating Toriel to Frisk's side and grabbing the human into her arms, making quick work of that problem. The moment Frisk horked up the caught food (it landed behind the fridge and was never seen again), they started laughing again.  
  
Undyne immediately dropped the human and returned to her seat with a scowl. "You're welcome, punk," she concluded.  
  
Toriel was now in her place, checking Frisk over quickly to make sure they were fine. Frisk was better than fine; tears of mirth ran down their cheeks, leaning onto Toriel for support.  
  
Asgore stared at Frisk. "Golly, dear," he said. "It wasn't _that_ funny, was it, Frisk?"  
  
sans's gaze slid to Frisk's at this, who was already staring at him while giggling. When he slowly winked, Frisk couldn't help but dissolve into those giggles again, only this time, sans laughed along with them.  
  
Toriel sighed yet again, looking at Asgore with a long-suffering expression. "Gorey, I think we're out of the loop yet again."

She helped Frisk sit back down, then very calmly reached down and cupped her hand around Frisk's milkshake.

With a calm smile, the milkshake was now a bubbling cup of mess.

It was at this that Frisk almost stopped laughing, pausing only to protest this mistreatment of innocent milkshakes. However, when sans met Frisk's gaze again and winked with the other eye, the laughs resumed, which only made it worse.  
  
"Asgore," Undyne finally said, looking very sad. "I think Frisk is defective."  
  
"Yes, well... it _was_ a rather long fall from very high up, wasn't it?"  
  
"Asgore!" Toriel snapped out, her eyes furious.

Frisk, however, stared at Asgore in delight at hearing this, unable to contain another wave of giggles.

Frisk loved a good joke, regardless as to whether or not they were the centre of it. If anything, Frisk seemed happier that they _were_ the centre of _this_ joke, as they eventually had to rest their head on the table to keep from getting dizzy from it all.  
  
Asgore was smiling, and he held out his spare spoon to sans, who took it with a "thanks," before sneaking a look back at Frisk.  
  
"No one likes in-jokes, you bratty _punk_!" Undyne said, rather needlessly.  
  
"except those who are in on them," sans replied easily.  
  
"Well, then..." Toriel said. "Can we please be in on it, then?"  
  
Frisk's smile twitched a little when they exchanged glances again, and he shrugged.

"Nope," Frisk answered her.  
  
Another small spear landed in Frisk's still-boiling milk froth.  
  
"See?" Alphys was saying, just as Papyrus's face lit up in understanding. "From here--," she pointed with the pencil, "--to over here, and then, by the same process--,"  
  
"--ELIMINATE AND CONNECT!" he concluded, beaming at her, and she nodded happily.

"Yes!" agreed, thrilled that he had caught on so quickly.  
  
"I SEE THE STUDENTS WERE RIGHT ABOUT YOU, DR ALPHYS!" he replied. "YOU _ARE_ AN EXCELLENT TEACHER!"  
  
She blushed at that, looking away while mumbling, "Just Alphys, and don't be silly." She looked back and then added, "You can use this trick on all of them, even the Daily Jumble, which I think you should be fine going up to, now."  
  
Papyrus stared at her when she said this, as if she had just flashed him (though she had no idea how he would look if that happened, nor was she willing to test it).

" _DAILY_ JUMBLE?!" he echoed. "ABSOLUTELY _NOT_! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE FINALLY, WITH YOUR ESTEEMED HELP, CONQUERED _THIS_ JUMBLE!!" And he cackled at the paper in question, as if doing so made it even more defeated.  
  
Alphys was the one staring, now. "Yes... uhm... well..."  
  
"TOMORROW IS ANOTHER PUZZLE, DOC-OOPS- _JUST_ -ALPHYS! I'LL ATTEMPT IT VALIANTLY ON MY OWN OF COURSE, WITH THIS NEW POWER YOU HAVE TAUGHT ME, BUT I MAY STILL NEED YOU! UNTIL THEN, I MUST FOCUS ON THE JUNIOR, NOT DAILY, JUMBLE!"  
  
"What the--?" Undyne had heard this. "Papyrus, are you freaking serious? You will _not_ torture my wife daily with the stupid Jumble!"  
  
Alphys shrugged shyly, smiling a little. "It's okay," she admitted. "It's not torture at all."  
  
"Yet!" Undyne added with a scowl. "And of course you'd say that, because you're a giant sweetheart!"  
  
Alphys's smile turned into a smirk, and she noticed Undyne's eye danced a little in reply. "Who's the real sweetheart here?" she countered easily. "From where I am, _you're_ the one defending me like a knight in shining armour!"  
  
Undyne's scowl instantly vanished, replaced by her wide, pleased grin. "That's because I _am_ a knight, Alphy!"  
  
During this exchange, the moment Undyne said 'my wife', all attention was hers - and now Alphys's as well - completely. Even Papyrus was distracted.  
  
Alphys shook her head. "You quit, remember?" She pointed the pencil at her. "You're not a knight, anymore."  
  
Undyne leaned over the table and grabbed the pencil from her claws, throwing it carelessly over her shoulder (where it joined Frisk's choking hazard in the realm of weird discarded things). She leaned forward further, grinning at her wife with a racing heart that had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with Alphys.  
  
"I never quit being _your_ knight, Alphy," she said, her smile softening a little. "And I _never_ will."  
  
Alphys couldn't help it at that; she blushed deeper and muttered something too shy to be understood, before adding, "Th-then I'm safe from _any_ torture, right? Even Jumble-related?"  
  
Undyne's face went from slightly silly to gleefully shocked. With a shout of delight, she lunged forward, jumping on top of the table in order to be able to sit on it, kneeling before Alphys. Before she could say a word about this (or anyone else could), Undyne was already leaning down and pulling her face up to kiss her. What surprised everyone else, however (save the two of them) was when Alphys, instead of shrinking away or being frozen, reached up and placed her hands on Undyne's, returning the kiss as much as she was given - maybe a little more.  
  
"Oh, dear," Toriel said, one of her hands over her mouth, the other reaching out to cover Frisk's eyes. Frisk scowled and tried to move out of the way, only to find Asgore's hand waiting to take Toriel's place. With a defeated scowl, Frisk slunk back down in their chair and gave up.  
  
sans, however, was the only one not reacting to this, as he just kept sipping his sauce from his spoon, looking thoughtful but also rather calm.  
  
His brother was less quiet or willing to ignore this. "UNDYNE, PLEASE REMOVE YOUR KNEE FROM MY MEAL!"  
  
Undyne opened her eye, met his gaze, and, without breaking contact with Alphys, ground her knee into said meal even harder. Alphys barely noticed; she was too busy in her own little Undyne-induced haze.  
  
Asgore was covering his own eyes now with his other hand, feeling both odd and proud at seeing the two of them so openly affectionate. As such, he didn't notice Toriel's expression gradually shift from surprised, to something else, a blush that visibly grew redder and redder. (He later found out what this look was about, and rather wished he had had that warning beforehand. His back was never the same after that.)  
  
When Papyrus tried to eat around her knee rather passive-aggressively (she was positive that he poked her knee with his fork at least twice on purpose), Undyne finally broke the kiss to glower at him, as if _his_ knee was in _her_ food.

At this, Alphys blinked rather quickly, having to calm herself down from everything the kiss stirred up. (She then caught Toriel's expression and looked at her in surprise. Toriel, however, merely raised her eyebrows at her and smiled in a way that had Alphys almost pity Asgore - almost.)  
  
"Should we come back, ladies?" Asgore said now, still covering his own and Frisk's eyes.  
  
"N-no!" Alphys answered hurriedly, as Undyne slid down from the table and sat down beside her. (Her knee was covered in tomato sauce, but she didn't seem to mind - or notice.) "Please stay! Uh... though..." She smiled and scratched her cheek, unable to finish the thought, her eyes going to Undyne rather slyly.  
  
Undyne did for her, wearing an almost feral grin. "You may as well get used to _that_ , because it's gonna happen a _lot._ Decades of it, in fact."  
  
At this, Frisk pushed Asgore's hand away and held one of their own out to sans, looking pleased. sans sighed, reached into his parka's pockets, and pulled out a small wallet of gold, holding it out to Frisk with a resigned air, who pocketed it immediately.  
  
Toriel was instantly unhappy seeing this. "There is far too much gambling going on!" she said sternly.

Asgore blinked at her, about to answer this, but her face clouded over and she glared at him, and he shut up before he started. Clearly, she was being a bit of a hypocrite. ( _That_ perhaps didn't help his back later.)  
  
"don't sweat it, tori. i definitely owe frisk for sure this time." Frisk smirked at him, and he bowed once again, this time to them.  
  
Undyne glowered at him. "Don't you _dare_ tell me what I think you're going to tell me."  
  
sans nodded, not looking sorry at all. "yep. it was how handsy you two would be today. frisk won by a landslide." He paused. "or should i say a 'table-slide'?"  
  
"Table-top gambling," Asgore added unhelpfully, nodding in agreement.  
  
"Table-sweeping victory?" Toriel added, unable to resist it.  
  
"STOP!" Papyrus begged, his hands over his earholes. "STOP WITH THESE HORRIBLE PUNS. IF YOU CONTINUE, I WILL BE FORCED TO EITHER PUN-COUNTER-ATTACK OR FLEE."  
  
"Don't you dare!" Undyne answered at one, grabbing the front of his armour and pulling him to her in warning, her teeth bared. "If you break one of my windows, I'll break _you_ in order to replace it!"  
  
"i agree," sans said. "it's always better to be a door-crasher than a window-crasher."

His smile widened as he watched his brother clutch at his head dramatically, declaring he was slain, and proving it by falling to the floor and twitching a little, as though actually wounded.  
  
Alphys suddenly, for some reason a single thought forming into her mind rather suddenly at the sight of this.

She looked at her phone, over one message, and hesitated.

While Toriel and Asgore cleaned up the mess, and Papyrus and sans tortured each other with puns and melodrama, Frisk adding to it by piling on the in-jokes, Alphys felt a sudden embarrassed shame fill her, as she stared at that one message on the phone.  
  
Undyne, who had been momentarily distracted by Papyrus's shenanigans ( _shin_ -nanigans?), noticed. She sat down beside Alphys and looked at her in question.

Alphys, wordlessly, handed her the phone, and she took it. The message was months old, and hadn't been replied to - or added to - since that day.  
  
"Oh..." Undyne murmured, the same thought dawning on her.  
  
_Where was Mettaton?_  
  
Alphys bit her lip, nodding.

Undyne moved closer to her, placing a hand over her knee gently. "What do you want to do, Alphy?" she asked softly.  
  
Alphys swallowed a lump in her throat. "Fix it," she admitted, her voice soft with that shame.  
  
"Okay," Undyne agreed.

* * *

The Underground was always quiet once the sun went down, despite being ruled by monsters. The dying sunlight seemed to cause a kind of collective lethargy, one that was never observed by the humans above.  
  
Alphys walked through Waterfall in the dimming dusk light, listening to the rushing waters and allowing her tired mind to wander along with them. Each time she turned a corner, she found a place rich with memories, whether with Frisk, Undyne, Asgore--  
  
\--or Mettaton.  
  
He was why she was down here, now. When she suddenly realised with a shock that she hadn't heard from him in months, and hadn't even spared a second or third thought to this fact, she felt terrible, ashamed, by her constant ignoring of him - he who had once been a dear friend, and sometimes her _only_ friend, too.  
  
When the barrier broke, Mettaton had achieved much of what he had sought out to gain. He had found that, while humans found him entertaining, monsters found him beloved, essential to their days, even. Most of his concerts and TV shows took place in Hotland, using the Core paths as stage sets and backdrops, while the rest took place in Waterfall, where he spent his spare time at the Blook family farm.  
  
Alphys had already checked Hotland, finding it empty of Mettaton but not of his fans. The sun had been up when she started her walk in the Underground, but now that the sun was vanishing, she knew he would be at the farm.  
  
The afternoon was spent amongst friends, and Alphys had tried as best she could to enjoy it, though of course she was distracted by her thoughts. The seven of them together proved to be a little party on their own, sometimes getting loud and silly. (At one point, one of their neighbours, a human, heard their partying and decided to come over with a casserole, surprising the entire group by this random kindness.)  
  
Other times, either a comfortable calm would overcome the room, or a serious, sombre mood would infect the conversation. It was during these times that Alphys learned even more about the people she was starting to very easily consider her family, feeling the love that had already rooted itself deep within her heart practically become an overgrown jungle.  
  
It was also during these times that she felt the small gap in that jungle, the one she knew was Mettaton's, and she knew she had to make amends, and wanted to that very day - or at least try to.

Once everyone had left (old habits died hard, even on the surface), Undyne turned to her and hugged her.  
  
"Go," she'd said gently, and Alphys clung to her gratefully. "I'd go, too, but I doubt he'd be too happy to see me. If you see them, though, send Napstablook my love, okay?"  
  
She'd nodded. Napstablook was still their friend despite not coming up to the surface, and had even asked to DJ their wedding. It was a good opportunity to update them on the wedding situation, as well.

With another gentle hug, Undyne saw her to one of the entry points to the Underground, before returning home.  
  
Things hadn't always been complicated with Mettaton. Alphys was one of the few people who knew where - and what - Mettaton came from, and had bonded with him over their confused love of human culture as well as a shared, isolated feeling. Before she'd built him a body, they'd been very close, for a long time.  
  
Alphys knew she was in the wrong this time, though. She was the one who had convinced Mettaton to partner with her 'against' Frisk, in hopes of finally being able to befriend a real human. But Mettaton, she knew, hadn't liked his role in these events, and had resented every action that further made him the villain.  
  
The worst part, for Alphys, was that she _knew_ she was being cruel to him, but the desire to befriend Frisk and, yes, be a champion to them, overrode her common sense - and kindness. When Mettaton rebelled and was almost damaged beyond repair, she almost lost her mind from the guilt, because - _again_ \- she'd hurt someone she loved just by being herself - or, more accurately, what she _wished_ was herself.  
  
When the barrier broke, things were still estranged between them, though they still spoke over the phone via texts and online. This communication was awkward at best and overwhelmingly distressing at worst. She knew Mettaton didn't need her anymore, probably hadn't since she'd built him his first body, and he needed her even less so now (his popularity had earned him a permanent maintenance crew), so she'd let that knowledge deepen the distance between them, so effectively that she had lost a friend.  
  
She was certain she had lost him for good, though she wished it were otherwise. By hesitating for too long to reply to his text the day of the anniversary, she knew her cowardice had cost her a price she didn't want to pay.

But she knew that while it was likely this trip was a waste of time, she _had_ to try.  
  
A sudden text stopped her in front of an echo-flower. She answered it, as it was a welcome distraction.

 _"If it helps,"_ Undyne had texted _, "tell the diva he can come by any time with grapes and use the piano as his bed. Love you, good luck, <3."_  
  
Alphys smiled, swallowing hard at this. She muttered, without realising it, "How did I ever live without her?" aloud, before she texted her reply _: "Thank you! I'll make it up to you! ^_^"_  
  
(The echo flower remembered Alphys's spoken words, and the next time Undyne was in Waterfall to visit friends, she heard its message in her wife's voice and raced back home, forgetting the purpose of her visit at once.)  
  
Undyne instantly replied. _"I'll hold you to that, Alphy, my dear."_ And she added a custom emoticon, one Frisk made of her face super-chubby and winking.

Alphys blushed, knowing what _that_ meant all too well, and tried to think of something to say in a similar way, but failed. She only managed to type out _"That sounds"_ before her claws started fumbling over random letters and she gave up, sending the text and putting the phone on silent before pocketing it again. Still blushing, she continued on her way.  
  
(Undyne received this message: _"That sounds vegrktr wfkso egfhffghldfh!!bb"_ Once she'd managed to stop her laughter, she sent the following: _"That's quite some expectation I have to live up to. I'll make sure to do my best. Remember where we went last Saturday? Do you think that will help?"_ )  
  
Alphys walked on, keeping her eyes out for anyone, just in case. Despite everything, she still always looked over her shoulder, even though in  Underground, she was generally much safer than  Aboveground. She would always have that instinct, no matter how confident she got. It was, like her mind, permanently stuck in that little way.  
  
She was lost in these thoughts when she suddenly found herself at the crossroads before the Blook farm.

On a whim, she veered left and took at look at Undyne's old house. Not much had changed since Undyne and Frisk had surrendered it to fire, save that the fire was eventually replaced by the training dummy. She smiled at the outside, it still rather unchanged and thus full of memories.

When she felt a little braver, she went back down and took the centre path.  
  
The Blook family farm wasn't as busy as it was during the day (especially at the snail races, which became very popular once it was known that Toriel loved them), but it wasn't busy enough to intimidate her, so she kept going.  
  
Before she reached the houses, Napstablook suddenly materialised before her, and she smiled, giving a little wave.

"ohh... dr alphys... hello..." This was a very warm greeting from them, indeed. "why are you here so late...?"  
  
"Unfortunate circumstances that were within my control but I ignored have brought me here," she admitted, "but I also want to talk to you about the wedding."  
  
"ohh... you mean the ceremony..."  
  
Alphys nodded. If Napstablook knew by now, then so did Mettaton, which proved her right, and miserably so. "Yes. Some of the music we've got, we won't need, whereas now we've got places at other times open for more music."  
  
"but didn't we just change it...?"  
  
Alphys blinked. As far as she knew, she hadn't spoken to Napstablook - or Shyren, his hidden vocalist and co-DJ - in several weeks.

"Er," she answered, unable to answer, "in any case, we have to change it again."  
  
"ohh, i see..."  
  
Alphys bit her lip, sensing a bit of hurt, so she grabbed her phone with a smile. "I was on your site the other day. Did you see these remixes of one of your songs?"

Her claws flew over the screen, but upon seeing the message from Undyne, she froze, opening it as she spoke. "It's one of the Spooktu-uuuuness..... whaaa...?"

Upon reading the message, Alphys immediately lost her brain, and her free hand shot up to her nose - just in case. She knew _exactly_ what Undyne was talking about, and her mind was immediately filled with unhelpful images of Undyne...

"uhh.... doctor...?"  
  
Alphys blinked rapidly, trying to get her focus back. "Uh? Oh!" She laughed, rather high-pitched, in her embarrassment.

Carefully, keeping her hand to her nose, she hid the message, pulled up Napstablook's site, and showed the display. "Listen to this when you get a chance, it's amazing!"  
  
"ohh..." Napstablook actually blinked. "how nice..."

Alphys grinned; for them, this was akin to Alphys jumping up and down screaming random syllables.  
  
"While you look at that, do you mind if I check to see if Mettaton is home?" she asked.  
  
"oh... he is... has been all day..."  
  
That wasn't good news at all.

"Okay, thank you. Let me know which mix you like best when I come back, okay?"

As she walked toward the houses, she muttered, "I'll likely be right back..."  
  
"ha... no you won't..." Napstablook answered, but Alphys of course didn't hear them.

Alphys hesitated for a moment, shaking a little. She checked the back of her hand and found no blood, so she took in a deep breath and knocked.

There was a long pause before the door opened, revealing a fully humanoid Mettaton, another benefit of success.

However, the look on his face made Alphys wish he was still just a box. She realised that this must have been how sans had felt when he had knowingly come by to see her while furious with him.  
  
"Doctor," he said coldly.  
  
Hurriedly, taking a note from sans, Alphys shifted forward and jammed her foot in the doorway, so that he had no chance to slam it on her. His eyes followed her movements and his eyebrows shot up in obvious surprise, but before he could say anything else, she started speed-talking (or, what Undyne affectionate called, "word-puking").  
  
"D-Don't! Just wait! I'm s-so sorry, M-Mettaton!" She reached up and grabbed the door handle as well, just in case.

Mettaton followed her hands and noted that they shook, only further increasing the distance his eyebrows made from his eyes.

"I sh-should have told you first, w-with everything, b-but especially when I knew U-Undyne and I were eloping! I should have t-texted you the moment we left the c-courthouse! I should have... I should have..." She searched his face desperately, seeing only careful calm, and she bit her lip, hard, to keep from crying. She had to look down before continuing.  
  
"I should have b-been a _real_ friend to you," she went on, her voice softer. "Even though I know I've d-done nothing to earn that. All I've d-done is use you, and..."

 _Damn._ She was crying.

She hurried on, wanting to say her piece before she had to leave. "A-and I sh-should have t-told you s-sooner that I m-miss you, l-love you, and I wish t-that I hadn't been so cr- _cruel_ to you..."  
  
Angry at herself, Alphys reached up under her glasses, trying to brush away the tears from even getting in her eyes. She pulled her foot away and turned; she had said what she wanted to, and hadn't expected anything to change, though not because of him, but entirely because of her.  
  
However, the moment she fully turned away, Mettaton reached out with one hand and grabbed her forearm before she could, the grip strong and stopping her at once.

She turned back, expecting fury or hatred, but saw only grief there.

She stared at him, and he looked down for a moment before returning her stare.  
  
"Alphysy," he said carefully, and the name made her smile without control, though it was very small. "I... am grateful," he finished.

He was about to say he was sorry, too, but the look on her face stopped him, and he said this, instead. It was absolutely the right thing to say, because she immediately lit up, the tiny smile growing bigger.

Wordlessly, she hugged him, and he hugged her back, now truly grateful, but for different reasons.  
  
_"I_ should have crashed the courthouse," he admitted, the only thing he would say, though he had wanted to say so much more. He had regrets of his own, like he had told Frisk that one long day, but he knew that, right now, Alphys needed _acceptance_ , not deflection. He knew her very well, indeed.  
  
She laughed happily hearing this, the mental images wonderful.  
  
"Although... it pains me to use the horrible expression 'I should have'. _You_ of all people know how atrociously useless it is to apply a fallacy to another one in an attempt to erase it, my dear!"  
  
Alphys blinked, then pulled away, her hands still on his forearms. She was grinning, now. She hadn't heard this kind of conversation in a long, long time, and she had missed it very much. _"_

 _You_ know better!" she corrected him. "You know that they also stand in for emotional intent, especially one not easily expressed or defined! You know that the more a monster expresses their regret, the larger that apologetic gesture must be! It has to be equal to the crime in order to erase it! Especially if that apology is given eloquently, succinctly, aptly, and in a timely matter!"  
  
Mettaton blinked at her in surprise for a moment, before he grinned. "Then I should _never_ forgive you, based on _your_ apology, darling." Even this acerbic wit was sorely missed, and she laughed, reaching up to dry her eyes. He hugged her again, and she returned it.  
  
"i told you..."

They looked up and saw Napstablook floating there behind Alphys, smiling minutely. "though i doubt you noticed... does this mean you won't try to help on the farm anymore...?" This last question was asked of Mettaton, who immediate pouted.  
  
"Blooky," he sighed. "You say it as if I'm not wanted!"  
  
"Well!" Alphys broke in before Napstablook could answer. "You can spend your free time, if you have any, if you want to, uh... helping me with the party..."  
  
Mettaton's eyes sparked quite eagerly. "Oh, yes," he agreed slowly. "There's more time to spread out now that much of it won't be spent on a ceremony..."

And he waved both Alphys and Napstablook into his house, already excited by this.

* * *

For an hour, they stayed within the confines of Mettaton's childhood (or the ghostly equivalent) home, a place Alphys had missed very much. Napstablook and Mettaton listened to the samples Alphys had brought, and they decided to contact a few of the remixers and use them for a few of the dancing slots.

(They offered to give Napstablook some kind of payment, only to be almost angrily refused. Napstablook stated that when it came to music, it should always be free, no matter what.)  
  
By the time they had begun to discuss seating arrangements, Alphys was nodding off. She couldn't help it; it had been a very, _very_ long couple of days.  
  
"Alphysy, my dear," Mettaton sighed, gently shaking her awake. "I must insist that you either drool off the carpet or go home and drool on your homicidal wife."

She snapped awake at once, embarrassed, though she did smile at the description. "O-okay," she agreed sleepily.

Then she blinked, the smile vanishing, along with her drowsiness. She turned to him worriedly. "Mettaton, a-are... I-I mean... you don't, I mean... are we...?"  
  
He stared at her with a disapproving frown, as if she had just said a dirty joke out of no where. "It will be dead-air on all my channels before I ever hate you, plumbum," he said, trying to make his voice sound stern, but failing - especially when she hugged him again.  
  
They walked to the closest checkpoint, exchanging notes of things they had missed in their estrangement on the way. Alphys promised to send more detailed descriptions of these events as soon as she could, and Mettaton agreed to do the same. She hugged him a final time, then left to the surface.

* * *

Napstablook met him at the crossroads. "she doesn't know, still... right?"  
  
Mettaton frowned. "I could _kill_ you, Blooky! You almost ruined the entire surprise! Do you really think Undyne would let me get away with that, without spearing me into a cheese-grater?!"  
  
To their credit, Napstablook _did_ look rather apologetic about this. Maybe? Sometimes it was hard to tell. "oh.... but... shyren said she was sure alphys still didn't know..."  
  
"I hope not," Mettaton agreed. "I wasn't kidding when I said homicidal."

He started back to the farm, then stopped. "I missed her, Blooky. I hated not saying sorry. Remind me never to do that again."  
  
"i would if i knew you would ever listen...." Napstablook muttered - and of course Mettaton didn't hear it.

* * *

Undyne was asleep on the couch, lit by the TV's flickering light, wearing just her robe loosely tired around her, clearly an afterthought.

Alphys paused, tiptoeing in, and she was happy to hear that, though lightly, Undyne was snoring.  
  
Carefully, keeping her steps as light as she possibly could, Alphys made her way over to the TV and turned it off.

She moved to get the blanket Undyne had kicked onto the floor, in order to replace it, when suddenly she felt herself grabbed by the back of her shirt and pulled backwards.

Undyne then sat up with the momentum and caught her, pulling both her, and now the blanket Alphys held, onto the couch with her, before she laid back down on her back, cradling Alphys - who was instantly a puddle - upon her chest.  
  
Alphys shrugged the blanket on over her shoulders and snuggled close to Undyne, closing her eyes at once. She allowed her senses to fully surrender to the presence that was her wife: Undyne's scent, the feel of her scaly skin against her cheek, the sounds of her heartbeat and her slow, easy breaths... _all_ of her.

Undyne held her closely, one arm around her waist, her free hand at the back of her head, stroking the soft, sensitive skin she found there with very light fingertips, which only made Alphys melt further.  
  
"How d'it go, sweetie...?" Undyne wondered sleepily, her eye closed and her face relaxed. "Did'ya work it out with the diva?"  
  
Alphys snorted out a laugh without control. "Yeah. It's really wonderful. He's decided that the party will still be an 'event', one that he plans to film and broadcast everywhere."  
  
"Ugh," Undyne groaned. "I'm _not_ getting new clothes."  
  
Alphys nodded in agreement, and Undyne seemed satisfied by this.

Alphys pulled her glasses off, shoved them on the console table (onto a plate of cold spaghetti, she would discover the next morning), and buried her face into Undyne's neck, sighing deeply.

She was so tired, but she felt so warm in Undyne's arms, so loved and happy...  
  
Before she was completely asleep, Alphys said, her voice barely a whisper, "You... you d-don't regret anything... do... do you?"  
  
Undyne growled softly at this, pulling Alphys closer to her, so that she could kiss her forehead easier. "Don't be so stupid," she grumbled in reply. "When it comes to you, I only regret not sending you a letter sooner."  
  
For whatever reason, it was the right thing to say, as Alphys smiled and felt comforted. She allowed sleep to take over, amazed that, for once, she not only didn't have nightmares, but found even her sweetest dreams were pale, if she compared them now to real life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was the original ending, save a few edits here or there. Those edits serve as the connection to the real final chapter. However, if this story is way too long and silly to go any further, definitely stop here, I guess? I dunno how you got this far though o_o. So yes. I should have the last chapter up by no later than Sunday (13 March 2016). Yay!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It looks like this is truly the last chapter, which I suppose is a good thing, since these chapters get so long. This one took longer than a few days to edit and post because my hands, due to illness, crapped out, and I couldn't write the first draft free-hand unless I never wanted to understand it. I am much slower typing than I am handwriting, so hence why this took almost thrice as long to edit and post. If I miss anything, please let me know, because I'm sure I have. Stupid hands. At least I can type? Anyway, here we go!

**Final Chapter**

There was yet another bright flash, one that still caught them off-guard despite their current situation. Undyne was covering her face with her hands, trying to protect both her eyesight and her sanity, while Alphys hid behind her, eyes squeezed shut and her cheek resting against Undyne's bare back. Both shared the same look of resignation.

Another two flashes at once caused Undyne to finally lose her temper. "Augh! _Stop it!"_ she snarled, lowering her head and keeping her face covered.

"Wait, Tori! Go left!

"Right!"

"Uh, no, hon-hon, the other--,"

"Don't be a billy-goat, Gorey. You knew what I meant."

"...sure."

Another flash.

Though her eyes were watering, Alphys still fared better than Undyne, who not only insisted that Alphys hid behind her, but kept her that way by constantly pushing her back. It was a sweet gesture, one that Alphys appreciated, but she still felt rather bad for Undyne.

 _"Stop that!"_ Undyne demanded, her shoulders shaking with her frustration. "I'll break them, and _you!"_

"Oh, Tori!" Asgore waved Toriel over to his side, and she was there at once. "Get in this shot, so I can take it!"

With a happy smile, Toriel threw her arms around Undyne's shoulders, one hand pulling Alphys to the front. Automatically, Undyne's hands went to Alphys's shoulders, and without thought, she opened her eye and leaned down to Alphys, about to ask if she was okay, when--

More flashes, this time almost excessively so, and now Alphys was blind along with Undyne, though Toriel didn't look bothered by the flashes at all. In fact, she seemed to love them, growing happier every time one went off.

"Gorey!" she said now, noticing her husband's overuse of the quick-flash button. "Stop wasting film!"

Frisk sighed. "They're digital, Mami." They were seated right on the couch, arms and legs crossed, watching everything with a calm, but also warm, smile. "You run out of batteries before you run out of space, usually."

Asgore blinked, surprised, turning to Frisk. "Space? What do you mean?"

"It's like film, but takes way more pictures."

Toriel was looking at her camera now, her face drawn in concentration. Despite a few shaky starts with her cell phone, and Frisk begging for Internet to be installed on the surface, Toriel had become rather astute when it came to modern technologies.

"Oh!" she then exclaimed, and Asgore was at her side, peering over her shoulder. "Gorey, look! We can see them right away!"

"You can even _delete_ them right away!" Undyne snapped, her eye watering.

Alphys was already back behind her, her cheek resting against Undyne's back again, deciding to pretend she wasn't being bombarded by her former boss and her current boss, and hadn't been for over an hour.

"Should I delete this one, do you think?" Asgore was wondering, getting the hang of it on his camera and showing Toriel.

She eyed it, then shook her head. "None of these should ever be deleted!" she answered. "I find it would be dishonest if we did!"

Frisk sighed loudly. This was obviously something they had tried to explain to their parents over and over again, to no success. "Then you _will_ run outta space, Mami, Papi!"

Undyne opened her eye just far enough for it to be a glare. "Frisk," she said between clenched teeth. "Let them run out so this torture will _end."_

"Oh, well, that's rather melodramatic, don't you think?" Toriel was looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, is _your_ eye twitching due to constantly insane royalty flashing stupid lights into it?"

Toriel sniffed, instantly going haughty. "Anything from us as royalty is a gift."

"Sorry, but, we're not royalty anymore, not really," Asgore broke in, smiling bashfully. "So this probably isn't much of a gift."

Toriel then sniffed at him, raised her camera, and took more pictures.

An hour. An hour of this, barely varying for the entire time.

At first, Undyne and Alphys were delighted by the attention, wearing their wedding dresses right away and posing for both Asgore and Toriel.

Alphys lost count of how many times both of them begged Undyne to pick Alphys up and do various poses this way. Alphys protested at first, citing (between the two of them) that she was probably too heavy for Undyne to swing around for each pose. Undyne, however, surprised her, as she didn't even look tired by the first fifteen minutes of it. In fact, Alphys tired before Undyne, finding she was getting a little dizzy from it. It was true, but she was also amazed: it was so easy to forget how strong Undyne was, especially if you were one of the very few who experienced her gentle touches more frequently.

Now, however, they were getting tired, and they hadn't even left their house yet.

Toriel and Asgore seemed to have a constant endless suggestions list, and pretty soon, both looked beat. Even Alphys was getting grumpy, starving and sweaty under the lights that the Dreemurrs insisted stay on for ultimate lighting. Even when Undyne tried to sabotage some of the pose-requests, the two merely found her attempts funny and even more picture-worthy.

"Ugh..." Alphys muttered sulkily, burying her face between Undyne's shoulder blades with a sigh.

At this, Undyne twitched, instantly aware that not only was she getting sick of this, but her wife was as well, and she would not stand for it any longer.

"That's it," Undyne said, her voice a growl mixed with deadly warning. "I'm sick of this, and so is Alphy."

When she was answered with laughter and more flashes, she held up one hand, and a spear instantly materialise within it, another hovering over her shoulder. She started forward, her eye blazing, (a small, slight pinpoint of light flickered beneath her eyepatch, one only Asgore and Alphys noticed, and understood.)

"One more flash," she said slowly, her voice eerily low and soaked with threat. "And I will start skewering."

There was a pause, before Asgore said, very carefully, "Skewer the cameras... or us?"

Undyne laughed in reply, her dangerous cackle that promised pain - but none of hers.

Instantly, both Asgore and Toriel backed away, hurriedly turning off and pocketing their cameras, before they both held up empty hands.

(However, when Undyne's gaze was on Asgore for a moment, Toriel dug it back out and quickly took a picture of Undyne in this way, especially in mid-laugh. The picture turned out so well that she printed it out, framed it, and gave it to Alphys.

Alphys was speechless, seeing the fierce, beautiful warrior that was her wife grin in malice over too many cameras. Once again, she looked _exactly_ like the swordswomen she admired and adored, but all Alphys saw was one of many beautiful sides to her. It was a wonderful present.)

Once the cameras were away, the spears vanished, and Undyne closed her eye and inhaled slowly, then exhaled. When she opened her eye, she was staring at Frisk with a grin.

Frisk sighed and threw something to her, which she caught easily: Asgore's childhood journal.

His eyes bugged out at that, and he almost tripped over his own feet trying to grab it, but alas, his student was always more agile, and she merely laughed and, in turn, slipped it to Alphys.

With a smile, Alphys rushed past everyone and ran down to the washroom, carrying her phone with her.

"Ah!" was all Asgore could think to say at this. He looked helplessly at Frisk, who shrugged and smiled.

"I. Told. You. So," Toriel said slowly, her eyes on Asgore and her smile deadly. And then, she raised her chin and held out her hand to him, and he groaned.

"Two losses and _no_ wins!" he sighed, as he handed something to his smiling and deadly wife a tube or jar of some kind. No one, not even Frisk, was able to find out what was in it, though for months they all tried. (What they didn't know was that it was just an empty tube, a placeholder for a verbal bet with no actual value. It was what Toriel said betting would lead up to eventually. Yes, she missed the irony, as well.)

When Alphys emerged from the washroom looking pleased, Asgore was already waiting for her, looking desperate.

"May I please have that back, please?" he asked carefully.

She smiled. "Yes. If you don't mind a trip to Hotland's storage box."

"Please tell me you won't read it," he begged.

"I won't," she nodded. "But Undyne promised to read it aloud to me before bed." And she winked, grinning the widest he'd ever seen her grin, before she walked past him and back to the living room.

When the two returned, Toriel, Frisk and Undyne were standing close together, whispering. Asgore and Alphys stopped in the doorway, but they'd already been spotted, so the three shut up at once.

Alphys blushed, both from embarrassment as well as anger. She didn't like to be talked about behind her back, as such things never bode well. She eyed the three closely, and found that Toriel and Frisk shared a look of excited delight, while Undyne was scarlet and scratching her cheek a little, though she was smiling, too.

Alphys frowned and looked over at Asgore beside her. He was already staring at the closest wall and even said, "Golly, what a nice wall!"

But she wasn't fooled. "Yeah," she answered flatly. "I'm tempted to have the two have you met face-to-face unless you explain what's going on."

Undyne heard this and grinned at her. Clearly, it was true what they always said: couples do end up exchanging and sharing traits between them.

At the moment, though, Alphys wasn't in the mood, and she sniffed at Undyne, the only thing she could think of.

However, Undyne, instead of throwing a quip in reply, blushed deeper and looked away. _That_ certainly confused Alphys.

"Hello again!" Toriel was saying, a little too loudly to be normal. "Alphys, we were just talking about the party. Do you like our outfits? We all match!"

Alphys didn't like to be deflected, but she looked anyway, finally noticing that all three Dreemurrs actually did match: They wore dark green formal wear, a long, modest dress on Toriel, a lovely knee-length kilt and collared work shirt for Asgore, and a puffy, shin-length dress for Frisk.

Over those, however, they also wore varying styles of denim jackets, and they also wore rather large boots. (Toriel had to lift the hem to show hers, which brought a blush from both her husband _and_ Alphys.)

This was a rather effective distraction; Alphys found herself cheering up a little. "You really took what I said - 'dress up - or down' - as literally as possible!"

Toriel nodded happily, ruffling Frisk's hair affectionately, and Frisk grinned. "It was Frisk's idea. And I must say, I rather like wearing these boots."

Asgore coughed, looking away again, before muttering something about getting fresh air, and that he'd meet them outside once they were ready.

The moment he left, the ones he left behind dissolved into laughter; they all knew what his issue was.

"You're too hot for him, Toriel," Undyne teased her, and Toriel blushed deeply.

"What a ridiculous thing to say, Undyne!" she protested. "Did you not notice Asgore's knees?"

Frisk pretended to choke to death and fell back onto the couch in a pouffy green heap.

Alphys, however, murmured, "Have you seen _your_ knees, Toriel?" Undyne blinked in surprise at her, and she merely blushed deeper. "I have no idea how I managed to befriend such pretty people," Alphys concluded.

"You're killing me!" Frisk moaned. "Stop talking about my parents that way!"

"To be fair, you look quite pretty, too, Frisk," Undyne replied. When Frisk blushed, smiled a bit, and looked away, she laughed. "Oh, so it's okay if _you_ get that same talk, huh?"

"Well, this is the same child who flirted with _me_ the day we met," Toriel admitted. "I still don't really understand. I'm an old lady. I only care if Asgore finds my knees nice."

Undyne grinned. "I think the fact that he's hiding outside is evidence of that."

Frisk made barfing noises. Toriel scolded them at once, but only half-hearted, as she could kind of understand the reason why, but it was still rude.

"Well, we have about an hour til the party. Do we need to do anything else before we go, or just go now and use the time to prep?" Alphys wondered, glancing at the time.

"Prep," Undyne said at once, surprising her. "Go now and prep."

"Er...?"

Toriel jumped and nodded suddenly, as if she had been hit physically by whatever thought she had. "Yes, good idea. That way, we can set up a guest book early and make sure everyone's there."

Alphys blinked at her, then at Undyne, who had already gone past and grabbed her coat.

Frisk met her confused gaze and smiled, waving her over. Hoping to finally get some light shed, Alphys leaned in close to listen.

"Trust her, okay?" Frisk said, surprising Alphys into silence. "I know it's annoying, not knowing what's going on, especially when they make it _so obvious that it's about you!"_

They said this last part loudly for two reasons: the first, so that they knew that Frisk wasn't spilling the beans, and the second, in order to let them know that Frisk didn't agree with surprises, either.

"But like I said: trust Undyne," they concluded. 

"Frisk, you know I do," Alphys sighed.

"Okay, so you know I don't BS you, right?" Frisk replied bluntly.

Alphys tried not to smile; despite the fact that neither parent could hear them, they still insisted on keeping their language squeaky-clean.

So when Alphys nodded, Frisk added, with a smile, "Trust her. You won't regret it."

Alphys looked over at Undyne, who was now leaning close to Toriel, looking embarrassed and mad about it, while Toriel was trying to calm her down. They whispered too softly for her to hear, but the longer she looked at Undyne, the easier it was to relax.

"Okay," Alphys agreed, and Frisk clapped a hand to her shoulder and squeezed gently.

Alphys smiled. "By the way? That dress looks amazing on you."

Frisk stood up straighter, grinning. "The first one I saw, and I knew it was mine. Though it took Papi forever to pick his. I didn't know he'd get a kilt."

Alphys paused, wondering if Frisk knew the 'King Fluffybuns' story, then decided not to mention it, just in case. "Asgore has many layers to him," was what she said instead.

Suddenly, Undyne was behind her, placing her coat upon her shoulders before hugging her from behind, pulling her close and resting her chin atop Alphys's head. As Alphys pulled her arms through the sleeves, Undyne smiled.

When finished, Alphys did the cutest thing - in Undyne's opinion - that almost made Undyne tear up: she leaned back into her embrace, resting her spiny head against her chest and sighed, smiling so sweetly that it punched Undyne's heart with its love.

"Whatever it is," Alphys said slowly, "it better not involve me dancing _or_ singing."

Undyne laughed, delighted at hearing this. Alphys used dry humour the most when trying to make people feel better, especially if that hurt came from Alphys, herself.

With a happy squish of a hug to her chest, Undyne said, "I won't do that to you..." she grinned. "At least not completely."

They hadn't even realised Toriel and Frisk had already left, until they heard Frisk shout out, from the other side of the door: "There's no time for _that_ , you can do it when you get back!"

This of course shocked everyone, save maybe Undyne, who found it funny. Throwing an arm around Alphys,  who slipped her arm around Undyne's waist, they were off.

* * *

"Welcome, beautiful monsters and humans, to the event of this generation! I'm sure you're all aware of how long we've waited for this, and now, here we are~!"

The modest hall that they had managed to rent turned out to be almost too small. No one had been expecting the amount of people who came by - especially the amount of humans, the number far larger than anticipated, save their fellow teachers and perhaps a few neighbours.

Alphys didn't find out until later, but Mettaton had created two separate invitation pages for both monster and human social media. As a result, the humans of the Internet made a point to show up, wearing specially-made T-shirts with a single word on it, one that puzzled Alphys - for about a minute - before she went scarlet and almost passed out, one hand on her nose, the other over her eyes, unaware that she was grinning happily.

Seeing this, she finally believed it when they said that not only was _she_ popular, but that she _and_ Undyne were, indeed, "the number-one ship online".

Undyne, when she saw this group (and the single word they wore on their shirts), had started laughing so hard she fell from her chair, unable to get up for quite some time, tears running down her face.

Their table, set up at the very front of the room, consisted of the two of them, the Dreemurrs, sans and Papyrus, and Shyren and Aaron. There was a seat for Mettaton, but he had yet to use is, instead constantly remaining on the "stage" in order to narrate everything.

Alphys had wondered about this, especially when she was helping set up the stage, which was really just a red carpet set separately on the floor.

When asked, Mettaton lit up. "Darling Alphysy!" he declared, giving her a hug before going on. " _Someone_ needs to make sure this event is properly hosted!"

And that's when a small crew of camera-monsters came in.

 _N_ _ow_ Alphys understood. "Uh, is there anything I can do to change your mind...?" she wondered.

Mettaton's grin turned devious. "Absolutely _not_ , beautiful. This is the event everyone not only wants to see, but _needs_ to."

(She didn't understand that until much later, and found herself grateful for it - and for Mettaton.)

"As I'm sure you all agree with, we've been waiting for this for far too long!" Mettaton was continuing, looking absolutely thrilled, not only with himself, but by simply being able to talk about it. "We monsters have watched as these two awkwardly and with several layers of failure try to get together over the years, only to have something ridiculous cease any progress to be made--,"

"What's your effing point, Mettaton?" Undyne suddenly snarled, which, though not what she sought out to do, brought laughter forth, anyway.

(She hadn't said the actual word, as she had secretly made a bet with Toriel not to swear during the party, one she planned on upholding, because the reward was worth it.)

"Darling Undyne, my point is that, _here we are!"_ And he threw his hands up, instantly summoning up both the bright spotlights and jaunty, happy music to go along. Though both Alphys and Undyne exchanged a long-suffering look, everyone else - especially the Dreemurrs and Papyrus - looked thrilled by this.

From there, it certainly was an event. Mettaton not only narrated as much as he could, but he also tried to keep incidental music going on, thanks to Shyren and Aaron helping him along (and Burgerpants in the background, looking both nauseated and happy, however that worked). Despite the changes made, Mettaton made it seem like it had always been that way all along, which made it even nicer.

Once, finally, it was time for a break for their meal, and Alphys was finally able to not only relax, but finally enjoy it all. She had been nervous around the cameras, finding herself hiding behind her wife more often than she would ever admit.

Undyne, to her credit, always grinned when the cameras met her, but she also held up a hand with a rude gesture, which may have missed the point, but it was still nice.

The food, however, was delicious. Though Papyrus had been humoured and was titled "catering supervisor", he kept himself out of the way, save providing commentary, which the catering staff ignored quite dutifully, as usual with catering. Alphys soon found that each dish was either a favourite of hers or Undyne's, which delighted both of them quite a bit.

In the middle of a particularly lovely bit of food, Alphys froze when she felt a cool hand touch her knee beneath the table. She looked over, and saw that Undyne was not only finished her food, but was staring over at her with a silly grin, rubbing Alphys's knee gently.

Alphys blushed a little but smiled up at her. Unable to resist, she reached forward and placed her hand on Undyne's cheek, and Undyne's eye closed with a sigh, her smile widening.

"I lied to you," Undyne said suddenly.

Alphys blinked, her hand freezing, though Undyne squeezed her knee.

"It's not serious," she went on calmly, and Alphys felt herself relax again. "I just... plan on... dancing with you."

Alphys blinked. "D-dancing?" She shook her head. "Undyne, uh..."

Undyne leaned down and nuzzled her cheek with her own, and Alphys smiled, closing her eyes, unable to help herself. " _Slow_ dancing?" she whispered, so close that Alphys couldn't suppress a shiver.

The words brought lovely mental images to her mind, and she nodded shyly. "That's... th-that's okay..."

Undyne kissed her cheek gently, though her gaze was above her head, staring at Shyren meaningfully. Shyren blushed, then suddenly vanished (she had actually just slid under the table).

Once the meal was finished, Alphys remembered that at this point, they had planned to have speeches. Undyne had groaned loudly at this, citing that speeches were the worst part of weddings. So when the stage area was changed from a full band to a computer rigged up, she wondered if speeches were going to happen anyway.

Until Mettaton said, "Ladies and Gentlemonsters, I must insist that you direct your full attention to the newlyweds."

Which was done in a way that had Alphys flushing red, then going pale, as all eyes went to her and Undyne. Undyne barely batted an eye. She stood up, turned to Alphys, and held out her hand. Bemused, Alphys took it, and together they walked from the table to the stage.

"Oh," Alphys whispered, blushing. " _First_ dance. _That's_ what you meant..."

Undyne smiled at her, her face so warm that Alphys felt her heart quicken at the sight. Wordlessly, she drew Alphys close, and of course Alphys snuggled closer, her arms around Undyne's waist, feeling Undyne slip hers around her shoulders.

"I hope you're ready for this, everyone," Mettaton was saying. Behind him, in the shadows, Shyren was setting something up in the mixer's laptop, her face a rarely-seen display of concentration. "We've been working on this for months, and the secret was almost too irritating to bear!" Noticed only by one person, Mettaton shot Napstablook a rather deadly look at this. "But, now, we're here, so let's do this!" He back away, and there was a moment of silence.

Undyne whispered, "I suck at giving gifts, so... this was the best I could figure."

And then, music.

Alphys stood frozen within her wife's arms, her whole body going cold, then hot. The music was familiar - achingly so - though not in its current arrangement. Pouring from the speakers was the main theme to Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, which in itself would have been wonderful, but there was much more to it. It had been slowed down, to the point that made it seem almost like a lullaby.

Instead of synth music, it was accompanied by only piano and two voices.

 _"Oh..."_ Alphys whispered, as she recognised the lead singer's voice.

The lead singer sang the words slowly, carefully, and beautifully, as the background singer added a layer of haunting harmony to it that made the song turn from hyper bubblegum Jpop to something else, something sweet and romantic and beautiful.

It was Undyne and Shyren singing and playing the piano, Undyne as the main vocalist.

Alphys was in tears before she even realised it. She clung to Undyne as they swayed to the music, her eyes shut and her glasses both fogged and tear-streaked, but she didn't care.

Undyne held her close, unable to smother tears of her own, smiling brightly as she listened to Alphys sniffle against her chest and felt her claws dig in a little into her back, hands shaking.

Alphys couldn't speak, but she didn't have to. Undyne understood.

 _This_ was what Frisk meant when they said to trust Undyne, that the secret was worth the frustration. Slowly, every thing that had led up to it was making sense: Napstablook's confusion over the music list, Undyne and Shyren sometimes vanishing for afternoons and refusing to say why. (If Alphys had noticed something like this before she and Undyne were together, the jealousy would have been immense. But she trusted the both of them, and it hadn't been felt. Which actually spoke more about Alphys than it did anyone else.)

"Do...? Do you like it, Alphy?" Undyne whispered, her cheek resting atop her head like usual.

Alphys tried to say she did, but ended up sobbing a bit in reply, and Undyne shut her eye and held her closer, knowing that that sob was far more eloquent than anything else.

"I'm not good at giving gifts," Undyne was whispering as they swayed to the music together, barely on cue but neither caring. "It took me forever to come up with this, but when I did... I knew I had to. I knew it was the only thing I could give, I guess..."

Alphys clung closer, again trying to speak, but only managing to say "Best gift," before choking up again.

Undyne, however, kept talking. Her voice was soft, but strained, and she kept her face hidden. "I'm not good at romantic crap. I mean, I couldn't even _propose_ properly! And I know I can be careless sometimes. And mean. And probably too violent..."

Alphys was shaking her head, but she went on.

"But... but..." Undyne bit her lip for a moment, inhaling sharply to calm herself. "Every time I'm with you, Alphy, I feel like... myself. I mean... I know I've always been myself, you know? But... we all have to wear certain masks of ourselves with others, different kinds of versions of who we are, right?"

Alphys nodded again, painfully aware of this being true, especially for herself.

"With _you,_ Alphy..." Undyne sighed deeply, her whole body shuddering. Her voice was still barely a whisper - the cameras never picked up what she was saying, she was so quiet - but every word was full of her feelings. "With you... I... It's like those masks were pointless the moment you looked up at me and told me about the abyss..."

Alphys jerked away, only to look up at Undyne. Undyne looked down at her, her face streaked with tears but positively glowing, her smile gentle and slightly crooked. Alphys felt her heart racing at this, more so when Undyne went on.

"I..." Undyne bit her lip, then said, "I _know_ it's dumb, shut up, but... it's like I threw away all of those pointless masks into the abyss forever, that day. With you, I knew - still know - I'd never need them again..."

Her voice choked up, surprising Alphys.

Alphys clung onto her, holding her tight, and Undyne, shut her eye and surrendered to it, her weeping soft but still full of that emotion.

"Y-you d-don't," Alphys answered, her own voice a mess. "N- _never_."

Undyne nodded, her hold on her wife tightening.

No one could hear their exchange, both entranced by the two of them, as well as the sound of Shyren's background vocals. Even Mettaton was silent, staring at his best friend and her wife with a mix of pride and sadness.

When the song finished, they stayed that way, as if not realising. It was only when Mettaton began speaking that they were snapped from their reverie.

"Now!" he declared, though admittedly his voice sounded a little choked up as well. "Time for speeches!"

Undyne groaned at once, and Alphys laughed. She took Undyne's hand and pulled her back to the table, and Undyne dragged her feet the whole way. Once seated, however, they leaned shoulder to shoulder, hands entwined, not willing to let go, now, no matter how silly the speeches got.

And they _were_ silly.

* * *

 "Honestly," Asgore was saying, scratching at his beard with a smile. "The fact that I'm standing here... golly. And for Undyne, no less. And Alphys! The two of them..." He chuckled. "Oh, dearie me."

"I HAD NO IDEA THAT THE KEY TO DEFEATING A ROYAL GUARD LEADER WAS TO SIMPLY LET THEM FALL IN LOVE. HAD I KNOWN IT, I WOULD HAVE WORN MY DATING CLOTHES THE MOMENT I MET HER!" Papyrus declared cheerfully.

("That wouldn't of worked and you _know_ it!" Undyne had snarled at him, which brought laughs.)

"Oh," Toriel was dabbing at her eyes with a few tissues. "Goodness. I had no idea such beauty would come from shattering the barrier."

sans stood there for a moment, before saying, "i guess this means undyne will have more and more _spear_ -it, thanks to alphys. how _shocking."_

(Both Undyne and Alphys threw their dinner rolls at him for this.)

Frisk's speech was the best one, truly. "Years ago, when I fell into the mountain, I figured, this was where I was gonna die. If the fall didn't kill me, then the monsters would. Then I met Mami-Tori, sans, and Papyrus. None of them felt dangerous, though maybe sans did, sometimes."

Frisk paused, then smiled. "No, it was meeting Undyne that I realised I maybe had something to fear. Undyne was strong, passionate, and really scary. I knew she would kill me if I let her."

Undyne stared at Frisk during all of this, looking both ashamed and confused.

"But then, when she had the chance, more than once, she didn't do it. She let me go. And it was then that I realised..." Frisk smiled. "I knew before, but with Undyne, it became clear: monsters weren't the 'monsters' we were taught to fear. They were _people_ , who felt the same things we did."

Frisk reached up and brushed a few tears away, still smiling. "And when I met Alphys..." Their eyes met, and Alphys blushed, afraid of what was going to be said. Her first meeting with Frisk was always a source of shame for her.

"I met Alphys, and I didn't see dishonestly or whatever. I didn't see someone using advanced technology to murder humans - not intentionally..." And Frisk winked at Mettaton, who winked back with a grin. "I saw someone who was so full of love and eagerness to please, someone who wanted nothing but to help."

Frisk paused, swallowing hard, before lowering their head. "I really, really loved you guys at that moment. All of you. And I knew that I either wasn't leaving, or wasn't leaving without you. No matter what."

The room was silent, broken by a few sniffles. Frisk kept their head lowered when concluding with: "I'm so glad it worked out. Because I don't want to be anywhere else, with anyone else. I... I love you guys... so... much..."

Frisk broke down, then, and Toriel was on her feet, going to their side and embracing them close as they sobbed.

Gentle applause met this, as Toriel led Frisk back to their seats. It really was the perfect speech.

* * *

 From there, the speeches devolved into more informal ones, speeches from monsters Underground and humans Aboveground, their experiences with the two of them, the impact on their lives, and how proud they were. Though Undyne had complained initially over how long the speeches went, by the end, she looked very touched, happy, almost, as if she couldn't believe people could see her in more than just a scary killer.

Following speeches, the monsters revealed a wedding tradition that they did not usually share with humans, but everyone decided that this was the chance to do so, in order to solidify this new world they were now in.

So, standing in the middle of the room, with all of the chairs and tables pushed back, Undyne stood, holding up one of her bright blue spears, waiting calmly. Again, she looked just like an anime character, and again, Toriel managed to sneak a few pictures of her this way, just for Alphys.

Alphys slowly met Undyne, holding up what looked like a thick, clunky phone that had several buttons and other things attached to it.

They stood a metre apart, eyes locked and faces sombre, and for a moment they stayed that way.

The humans stared in shock, seeing only weapons and their admired couple standing across from each other. They were fully expecting some kind of fight, fisticuffs or something, which both dismayed and intrigued them.

So when Alphys typed something hurriedly and held up her little control panel, and Undyne merely waited, they were instantly confused.

That is, until the floor beneath Undyne began to flicker and grid out, each square within the grid changing colours beneath her feet. Undyne eyed the colours closely, and Alphys kept her mouth shut.

A few of the monsters recognised this and clapped happily. The humans, bemused, tried to understand, but found themselves still not sure.

That is, until Undyne gripped her spear and began to hop from square to square, swinging her spear around her to press down on the squares she missed. More than once, she was jolted, soaked, or covered in some kind of fruit scent, but she still kept going, her grin growing wider and wider with each success and defeat.

Once she was standing right on the edge of the puzzle, she met Alphys's gaze again, before narrowing her eye. At Alphys's feet were plate-sized blue circles, two at each side, and two in front. Alphys froze, especially when those spears thrust upwards with a flash.

The humans gasped, but again the monsters applauded. Alphys waited, then hurriedly jumped backwards, trying to type at the same time.

Undyne stepped off the grid and moved forward; another duet of spears appeared behind Alphys, but before she could get hit, she jerked to the side and kept typing.

When a third duet threatened to break her panel, she scowled and changed her mind. With sharp stabs to the keypad, suddenly Undyne was contained in a four-sided energy box. Glowering, Undyne tried to use her spear to shatter one, but instead all she did was cause sparks to spill. When she tried to jump over it, they changed to orange and moved up to join her, causing her to stumble back into her little prison with a glare.

Alphys grinned now, staring right into Undyne's eye. Undyne, in return, grinned, and suddenly, before she could even blink, a small blue spear, followed by five others, suddenly surrounded the panel held tightly in her claws. With a yelp, Alphys threw it upwards, and the spears slammed into it, making quick work of it. It landed, skewered, at their feet.

The forcefield vanished, as did Undyne's spears. Alphys sulked at the ruined control panel.

"Undyne wins," Mettaton announced. "Alphys is the loser until next year, on the anniversary, in which then she will be given a chance to prove her worth."

Alphys mumbled a word she very rarely said out loud, burying her face into her hands, and Undyne cackled gleefully, throwing her head back and a fist in the air in her victory.

None of the humans knew what this really meant, as this was an aspect of monster culture not yet widely known. But the monsters had known, and very discreetly exchanged the results of their bets - another tradition (it was never gold, but treats, at weddings). It wasn't something easily discussed, but soon, years later, this kind of tradition would slowly creep into human weddings, with different variations, when it was learnt what "winning" actually meant.

Undyne scooped Alphys up and hugged her tightly, and Alphys smiled a little, though she still looked grumpy.

"Did you lose on purpose, Alphy?" Undyne teased.

"Of course not!" Alphys answered shortly. "Why would I ever purposefully lose?! Especially puzzles?!"

Undyne merely licked her lips, and Alphys went scarlet, looking away. "B-believe it or n-not, I w- _wanted_ to win..." she muttered.

"Oh, trust me, dear wife," Undyne replied. "You _will_."

* * *

Alphys was asleep on the table when Undyne decided the party was over.

Very gently, she woke her wife up, who was in that delightful, snuggly kind of half-sleep; once awake, she wouldn't let go of Undyne's hand, and if able to, she kept her head resting on Undyne's shoulder or chest.

Waving Mettaton over, Undyne said, "Close the party, diva. We need to get home."

Mettaton pouted. "But, Undyne, my darling, we still have so much more to--,"

Then his eyes fell on Alphys, who was curled against Undyne's arm and falling asleep again.

"Aw, Alphysy..." he murmured, putting a hand to her cheek.

"Not sleepin'," she said at once, opening her eyes halfway. "Am 'wake. Not sleepin'."

"Yes, dear," Undyne replied automatically. "We've got to go home anyway, diva. You can keep partying if you want."

Mettaton paused, considering. Then he raised an eyebrow. "Really? And film it?"

Undyne nodded. "Why would I care? I won't be here."

(That ended up being a mistake, as Mettaton and his company ended up partying long into the night. As such, the entire hall was almost ruined, and Mettaton himself had to spend several weeks cleaning and repairing the damage he made. Hubris and karma work on ghost-androids, too.)

Making the rounds with Alphys attached, Undyne made sure to say goodbye to her closest friends first, then sort of waved on her way out to the others.

Alphys was too tired to try to add anything, merely focusing on how nice it was to be able to cling onto Undyne and not have to worry about what it meant or anything sweaty or awkward like that.

Once the fresh night air hit her, she snapped awake, and Undyne laughed. They walked to their bus stop in a soft, gentle silence, Alphys leaning against Undyne, still tired, while Undyne held her close.

(Neither liked cars, usually taking rides from Papyrus or sans when they could. Toriel was still learning how to drive, and Asgore found cars far too confusing to bother with at this time, though future events would change that. Frisk promised, once of age, to act like their personal chauffeur - though both Alphys and Undyne suspected this was just a joke.)

It wasn't unusual to see monsters on public transit by now, but it was a little weird to see them dressed so fancy on the bus. However, instead of her usual reaction when being stared at, Undyne ignored everyone, focusing only on Alphys, who was starting to nod off again, lulled by the bus's sounds and Undyne's scent.

Once at their stop, they again walked in gentle silence, taking their time to enjoy the cool night air, something they still had yet to take for granted, after years and years of stale, stiff air.

Again, Alphys woke up from it, and again, she found herself feeling so calm and happy from it all.

"That was wonderful," she said softly. "All of it. But especially you."

Undyne blushed, pleased. "Even though you lost?" she wondered with a smile.

Alphys hesitated. "Yes. Even if I lost."

"You're never a sore loser," Undyne agreed with a laugh.

"I have a feeling tonight I will be," Alphys muttered, which just made Undyne laugh harder.

* * *

As it turned out, they both forgot to uphold the Puzzle Dance tradition, but never told anyone they did.

Especially since their night was better without it.

Once home, both stood in the doorway, hand-in-hand, smiling. Alphys turned to Undyne, who was already looking at her, and her smile widened.

"Hey," Undyne said softly, her eye wavering a bit in the dim light. Alphys nodded in reply, unable to resist placing a hand on Undyne's cheek, who instantly took it. "You awake, now?"

Alphys repeated the gesture; while the bus ride was like a mini-nap for her, the moment they got closer to home, the more those butterflies exploded within her, bringing her more and more awake. Both the cold air and anticipation woke her up more than even coffee ever could.

"Good," Undyne grinned, her eye sparking, and Alphys had that single warning before she was pounced on.

Undyne backed her right against the door and pressed her entire body against Alphys, already kissing her so hard, she was breathless. She made a noise then, one that Undyne loved, and replied to by licking her lips open and meeting Alphys's already questing tongue with her own.

Alphys shut her eyes at this, her legs already getting wobbly from this intense contact. Her hands reached behind Undyne, up her back and to her neck, untying the knot that held her straps up, like she had the first night they were married.

Once undone, she pulled it down and slid one hand beneath, and Undyne's whole body seemed to react the moment her palm brushed over already hardened flesh.

Undyne, in turn, was reaching back to unzip Alphys's dress, gently at first, but once Alphys had managed to slip both hands beneath, brushing her clawtips over her nipples, Undyne groaned and started fumbling, almost ripping the zipper off, and would have if Alphys hadn't broken the kiss.

"Hey!" Undyne protested hotly. "Kissing! Please!" Then she blushed when she realised what she had just said.

Alphys smiled in reply, which only deepened the blush. Without a word, Alphys leaned down and did exactly as asked - only kissing Undyne's breasts, first one nipple, then the other, occasionally flicking her tongue over them. Alphys kept her hands at the small of Undyne's back, trying to keep her close to her as possible.

It didn't work too well, as the moment Alphys's tongue made contact, Undyne jerked backwards in shock, stumbling, as suddenly her legs didn't seem to work too well anymore. Alphys's claws dug into her back, and instantly she found her balance again, grabbing onto Alphys's shoulders for additional purchase.

Alphys smiled, sliding her tongue over one hardened nipple slowly, trailing around before very briefly flicking it over again. When Undyne stumbled, she slid her tongue over to her other breast, doing the same, and Undyne tripped - over her own feet - and with an oath, she fell backwards onto the floor.

Alphys stood, staring at her in surprise, and Undyne shut her eye and growled. "Kill me, please."

Instead, wearing a grin and feeling those butterflies as well as desire duet within her blood and belly, Alphys jumped down immediately and straddled Undyne, pressing close and kissing her.

The entire thing surprised Undyne for a moment - before her own need and the feel of Alphys against her, her hungry kissing and her attentive caresses, had her kissing back as if for dear life. It was almost too much to bear, made worse when Alphys suddenly broke the kiss and slid her lips down from her ear, to her neck - stopping briefly there to nuzzle - before going lower.

Alphys's heart was racing. It wasn't very often that she was able to floor Undyne - and keep her there - and now that she had, she wondered why she hadn't done it sooner. She also understood why Undyne loved to do this to _her_.

And at that thought, she suddenly had an idea, one she was surprised neither of them had brought up recently, let alone tried, solely from mutual shyness, alone. But now, she was feeling very, very daring, and was desperate to try it.

There was a reason why they were both so quickly hot and bothered. About two weeks ago, Undyne sat Alphys down, wearing a similar expression to the one she had when first bringing up their sexual future. True enough, she said, "I think we should wait."

Alphys blinked slowly, clearly confused, so she went on. "I mean, wait til the end of the party, before we make love again."

"Why?" Alphys wondered, not upset but oddly confused. Undyne didn't strike her as a traditional type, but this certainly was something along that line.

"Well... we're still doing the Puzzle Dance, right?" When Alphys nodded with a smile, she went on. "So, shouldn't it mean more, be more special, if we wait? It'll make it better, the best, I'll bet, with all of that waiting!"

It had certainly been... something. Alphys had had no idea just how often they were intimate until they suddenly weren't. In fact, it was rather frustrating. They could still hug, cuddle, and kiss, but anything beyond that, Undyne would scowl and snap out, "Gotta wait." Looking back, Alphys now wondered if she was saying it more to herself than to Alphys.

So now, Alphys's brain as well as libido had many ideas to make up for the time lost, ideas that she'd never thought she'd be brave enough to try.

But Undyne was just... too amazing to ignore, and she _had_ to try, now.

Her hands shook, and her fingers stumbled and she had to sit up in order to try and pull down Undyne's dress further. Undyne froze for a moment, before her eye suddenly blazed with understanding, and wordlessly, she wriggled out of it, with Alphys's help, and soon it was a very shimmery pile near the doorway.

Before Undyne could say a word, Alphys was licking her nipples again, trailing her tongue down slowly along her chest, over her ribcage, then even lower, one hand already pulling Undyne's underwear down her hips as she went.

Undyne's eye was wide, not used to seeing this side of her wife at all - but concluding that waiting was a wonderful idea. Especially when Alphys barely hesitated pulling her underwear off.

"You," Undyne murmured, tugging at the dress Alphys still wore. "Naked. Please."

Alphys looked up, her face red but smiling, her breathing a little fast to go with her heart. She reached back - paused when she found her dress already unzipped - then smiled wider and shrugged it off, the lack of hesitation surprising them both - but in a good way.

The moment Alphys was wearing only her glasses and underwear, Undyne grabbed her and pulled her back down, relishing in the feel of naked skin against naked skin. Alphys slid one hand down Undyne's front, bringing a sigh from her, and Alphys broke the kiss to lean down and instead kiss her neck, her collarbone, each breast, and lower...

"Alphy..." Undyne murmured, watching her wife slowly slide down her body, feeling her own heart racing, her own stomach suddenly consumed with butterflies. The look on Alphys's face was one she had never seen before - pure desire and excitement, mixed with both love and lust. "Alphy, what...?" She had an inkling, but wanted to be sure. She wanted to be _right._

Alphys grinned in reply, her fingers reaching between Undyne's legs and making contact to already warm and wet skin. Undyne hissed out her breath, her eye closing, one hand tangling into her own hair, the other still on Alphys's shoulder tight. "Love it when you do that..." she whispered.

That made Alphys nervous. She hesitated a bit, before sitting up and pulling her hand free. Undyne's eye snapped open, and Alphys met it, unable to keep a smile from her bright red face.

Very deliberately, she licked her claws, and Undyne's eye flared, her face going red at once, instantly speechless.

Alphys was thoughtful at this; Undyne tasted different, salty and almost creamy, but also something new, something that she knew only to be Undyne.

"Mm..." she murmured without thinking, and Undyne opened her mouth to try and speak, but nothing came out.

Alphys moved away slowly, only to stand up and hold both hands down to Undyne. Undyne took them shakily, looking both bemused and aroused out of her mind, her hands shaking. Gently, Alphys led her from the doorway to their chair.

The moment they got there, Undyne tried to take over, grabbing Alphys and kissing her so hard she stumbled. But Alphys was determined to satisfy both her own curiosity _and_ her wife, so that didn't last long.

"S-sit down, please?" Alphys asked, her voice already strained.

Undyne did so immediately, grabbing onto Alphys and pulling her into her lap. They kissed for a long, wonderful moment, getting lost in each other, until Alphys slowly broke the kiss, then started to slide down off the chair.

Undyne protested, trying to pull her back, but Alphys shook her head. "You're not even naked yet!" Undyne protested, tugging at the underpants Alphys still stubbornly wore - to make a point.

"There's a reason for that," Alphys replied, gently unhooking those lovely fingers from her hips. "Which I _will_ follow through with, I promise."

"I don't care!" Undyne snapped, her eye blazing. "Alphy, _please_ , stop teasing me, _please_ \--wait... what are you...?"

Her voice trailed off the moment Alphys sat down on the floor in front of her, gently pulled her knees apart, and started kissing gently along the inside of one thigh, then the other. Undyne instantly jerked a little, both from being ticklish and from surprise.

Alphys was incredibly nervous, still. She had no real clue how to do this, was only going by instinct, what she'd read, and pure desire for Undyne. But then, that had been her entire experience with Undyne, and each time, more or less, had found both thrilled with the results.

"Alphy..." Undyne suddenly whispered. She looked up to find Undyne staring at her, her face pink and her eye still blazing, strands of loose hair falling along her neck and chest. She was breathing almost as fast as Alphys, and her grip on the chair's arm was tight. "If you're teasing me... I swear... I'll... do _something_...."

Alphys smirked, delighting her. With raise of one eyebrow, Alphys pulled off her glasses, set them aside, and was instantly back where she was, back to kissing, only this time, she didn't spend any more time hesitating. Feeling the blood rushing to her face and feeling both hot and cold, she then kissed Undyne right at her centre, and held still.

Undyne's reaction was instant: a gasp, and a hand going right to the top of Alphys's head, her fingers twitching.

It was exactly what Alphys needed - and wanted - to keep her brave, and again, without hesitating, continued, her hands holding Undyne's knees apart firmly.

It wasn't that different from kissing her mouth, Alphys discovered. Different, but still warm, still thrilling. When she couldn't help it and started licking gently, using her tongue to prise those lips apart, Undyne jerked again and uttered a strangled cry, a mix of "Alphy" and "Nngaah!"

Without thinking, Undyne actually felt herself trying to pull her knees together, but Alphys corrected her gently, and at this, Undyne's fingers dug a little into her scalp, stinging but not painful. Her other hand was holding the chair arm still, so hard that some of the fabric was ripping in protest.

At first, Alphys kept her licks and nuzzles gentle, eager to explore, finding that discovery always came first for her. The deeper she delved, the richer the taste; she realised that, while nice, her fingers could never touch deep enough to reach this level of flavour - and scent. Undyne's scent was always unique, but her personal scent was almost intoxicating this close. Coupled with that taste, the feel of the smooth, slippery skin against her tongue and lips, and she found herself almost getting lost, feeling a little stupid that she'd waited so long to do this.

Undyne was definitely having a different experience than this. The moment she felt Alphys's tongue go deep, she went hot, her whole body moving in response without her control, feeling as if she had swallowed something moulten that was now spreading down from her belly into her groin, but in the best way possible. Her head was thrown back against the chair, her eye rolled up and her teeth bared.

This was like nothing she'd ever felt before, nothing she even _knew_ she could ever feel before.

"A-Alphy..." she managed to get out, her voice surprisingly small. When she felt Alphys squeeze one of her knees in reply, she finished with, "Your tongue... is so... _long..."_

Alphys had to pause for a moment, trying very hard not to laugh, though she did blush quite a bit. It wasn't her fault; she just happened to have a longer snout than most monsters, which meant, yes, a longer tongue. But this was the first time it actually was working in her - and Undyne's - favour.

By now, Undyne's fingers on her head were shaking, but then, so was her entire body. Alphys tried to hold her as still as possible, taking the cues she was given in order to make it better for Undyne - the best, she hoped.

What she forgot - like she usually did - was that when it came down to it, Undyne came harder and faster than Alphys even knew anyone could.

This time was no exception.

The moment Alphys could tell she was close, she tried to lick as deep as possible, unable to stop herself from making a small purr of pleasure when she was rewarded by more wonderful, rich tastes.

 _That_ was when Undyne jolted beneath her, her hand scrabbling at the chair arm (and ripping part of it open), the other dropping from Alphys's head and going up to her mouth. Undyne bit down, trying to silence - or at least muffle - what she knew would be loud, but Alphys took this as a challenge. She flicked her tongue deeper, quicker, and in this way, she won - Undyne's cry was more of a shout, starting low from deep within her chest but becoming a desperate, broken keen of Alphys's name. With it came another wonderful thing: both Undyne's scent and taste changed slightly as she came.

Curious, Alphys tried to taste a bit more, compare the differences, but suddenly found herself pulled away rather abruptly. She had maybe seconds to look up - and saw something feral and almost _starving_ in her wife's face, then. Undyne's eye blazed with both aftershock and desire, her face red and her whole body still trembling.

Alphys had the time to say, "Er," before she found herself on the floor again, this time on her back and beneath Undyne, who was kissing her so hard, Alphys groaned, unable to keep it in.

Undyne was gasping between kisses, her hands shaking as she reached down to finally rip those damned underpants _off_ , but her passion was anything but weak.

Alphys again maybe had a few seconds before everything went white-hot, and she again moaned deeply, shutting her eyes, as Undyne's fingers were already deep within her and stroking, noticing that, despite not being on the receiving end, Alphys was quite slick indeed.

Undyne growled against Alphys's lips, and again her fingers went deeper, causing Alphys to gasp and latch onto her desperately, now. Still kissing her, Undyne's fingers moved deeper, then arched slightly, and Alphys threw her head back, breaking the kiss, and said her name, brokenly, unable to keep it in. Undyne merely kissed her neck in reply, biting a bit, and from there, Alphys was lost, buried in those deep, body-shaking strokes, unable to see or speak or even _breathe...._

 _"More,"_ she managed to choke out, and Undyne moaned a bit in reply, her eye shutting briefly, the sound of Alphys's voice arousing her. She obliged, and Alphys lost her ability to even think.

Pretty soon, it was she that squirmed and dug her claws into both floor and Undyne's arm, desperately, now. Undyne kissed her again, hard, and she felt her whole body respond. With a strangled plea of Undyne's name, Alphys clung onto her and finally _\- finally -_ came.

This time, she remembered to breathe, though she did almost forget in her fervour. Undyne held her close, making sure this was the case, only able to relax when it indeed was.

Alphys was no less senseless, a puddle again, so when Undyne collapsed upon her, she barely felt it, instead deciding that Undyne was just another puddle in the same place.

There was a long, lovely repose, one filled with gentle caresses, soft kisses, and slowing of hearts. Neither could move at this point, not did they even want to. The silence curled up over them, one that threatened to lull Alphys into sleep.

It was only when she felt herself being carried that she understood that she _had_ fallen asleep at one point. Undyne walked slowly, her knees shaky and threatening to give up, but once they both reached their bed, collapsing onto it was the only solution.

Undyne lay on her back, sprawled out, and Alphys curled up at her side, not realising that she was shaking, too.

"Was...? Was it... worth the....wait?" Undyne wondered softly.

Alphys snorted before giggling. "You tell me!" she replied happily.

Undyne smiled, blushing deeply. "Holy _shit_ , Alphy," she breathed out, her voice strained. "What you did..." Alphys immediately tensed, shy all of a sudden, but it was needless. "That was... so _good_. So _incredibly_ good. Why didn't we do _that_ sooner? It was _incredible_!"

"Good," Alphys echoed, relieved. "I had no clue what the hell I was doing."

Undyne laughed, unable to stop. She was giddy now, and her laughs brought giggles from Alphys. Soon, they were clinging to each other again, laughing themselves to tears.

When they managed to calm down, and Undyne got up to drink at least two glasses of water before lying back down again, Alphys sat up and peered down at Undyne as she lay on her side.

She bit her lip, wanting to speak but afraid she'd just stammer.

"You okay?" Undyne asked gently. "Come cuddle with me?"

Alphys nodded and did so, but added, "Are _you_ okay?"

Undyne blinked at her slowly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just... This is _it_ now. No more parties or things to have to wait for, for this to feel real. It's fully real, now."

"It's been that way all along, Alphy."

"Well, but--," Alphys sat up again, and Undyne reached up and silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"As far as I'm concerned," Undyne said, "it's always been real. I don't want this to be any kind of fake, because then it wouldn't be with you, and... and all I want is you."

Alphys smiled against her finger, her eyes filling.

"There's also a lot more we have to look forward to, anyway!" Undyne continued. "Anniversaries, dates, trips, all of that! I want to do everything I can with you, Alphy, and..." She smiled. "And Papyrus too, of course." When Alphys nodded in agreement, she relaxed.  
  
"But..." Alphys hesitated when Undyne dropped her finger. "When we disagree, fight, have troubles... Won't you regret this? Won't you want to... leave?"

Undyne stared at her, then shook her head. "If a fight makes me leave you, Alphy, you're better off."

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling, now. "Yeah, _some_ things will suck. We _will_ fight, and have issues and all of that shit. But, I..."

She looked back at Alphys, her face serious. "I think, with you, I can bear it all. I know you won't let me down - at least on purpose, anyway - and so I plan to never let you down, either."

Gently, carefully, Alphys reached down and touched Undyne's eyepatch with light claws. "You never give up on anything, do you?"

"Or any _one_ , if they've earned it," Undyne added, gazing up at Alphys and seeing only tenderness and love - and a bit of fear, yes, but not of Undyne, she knew. "And you've earned it for life, Alphy."

Alphys's lips trembled a little at that, her eyes filling. "Y-you have, t-too, wi-with me," she admitted.

"I know," Undyne whispered. "Because you show it to me every chance you get. And I love and adore you so much for that."

Alphys shut her eyes, unable to stop her tears, now. Undyne pulled her close, and she wept, holding Undyne tight, and Undyne comforted her, reassured her, and returned her words with honesty and care - and love.

* * *

 Through the whole night, they stayed mostly in bed, either sleeping, eating junk food, or just talking. Occasionally they would again make love, which would again bring sleep, starting the cycle again.

However, when they woke to hear birds greeting the sun with their songs, they had just finished one of many rounds of said love-making, and found the birdsong almost personal, as if sung just for them and not the dawn.

With several more tender kisses, Alphys joined Undyne back on the bed, her eyes already closing, feeling exhausted now. Undyne immediately pulled her close, and she melted against her.

Soon, amidst the birdsong, they fell asleep, the sun's rays falling on them - not waking them, but warming them from the outside in, as if nature itself wanted to give them the green light.

And that was how it would be, until they were dust.

**THE END**


End file.
